Free Republic

Generation Z, born from 1995 onwards, has been raised with “moral dependency,” argues social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. As the first generation to get social media at age 13, Gen Z has been denied the independence that previous generations enjoyed — the “free play,” the time spent off devices. In general, Haidt argues that this generation is more fragile and sensitive to conflict, insults, and exclusion, making them less adept at solving problems on their own. And Haidt believes that overprotection has made them weaker and easily discouraged. That’s why teaching critical thinking and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may be the...

It’s not just the loss of jobs, the end of school for children or the nonstop panic the mainstream is stirring up in an effort to knock out President Trump. The COVID-19 panic is having even more profound effects on the American society. “The number of people looking for divorces was 34 percent higher from March through June compared to 2019, according to new data collected Legal Templates, a company that provides legal documents,” Fox News reported. The combination of stress, unemployment, financial strain, death of loved ones, illness, homeschooling children, mental illnesses, and more has put a significant strain...

By this measure, the U.S. scores very poorly: 4 out of a possible 5 on the Fragility Index. There is a certain logic to the idea that stability is a good predictor for future stability: if a nation's economy and governance are stable and devoid of disorder, this trajectory of stability will be durable, right? Well, actually, no. Nassim Nicholas Taleb and co-author Gregory F. Treverton argue in their essay The Calm Before the Storm: Why Volatility Signals Stability and Vice Versathat "the best indicator of a country’s future stability is not past stability but moderate volatility in the relatively recent past." Taleb and...