Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes a mix of national and local commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here . ••• As we experience the slow, excruciating devolution of "the system" that has shaped reality for most of us for much of the last couple generations of American life, it is time to imagine where we go from here.
Imagine, and then lean in, to the work of moving us there. Not all our critical societal infrastructure is crumbling but, honestly, most of it is, in fact, in decline or in disarray. The institutional stalwarts that we looked to for reassurance or order — the Supreme Court, the president, the Dow Jones, insurance agents, the school board, weather forecasters — all have become beacons of alarm signals: things are changing.
The rules, the guarantees that created the constructs of American life, are not so solid or so clear. But we do still have institutions — lots of them, in fact. They have established missions, resource and agency.
Do they have the courage and strength to step up and into the breach in these challenging times? We should collectively be pushing for such resolve. In my professional life, I am often called into the service of "crisis communications," helping organizations or groups of people navigate what seem to be existential challenges. I have come to recognize (and try to call out) that most — though not all — "crises" are in fact change management being triggered at very inconvenien.