Timothy Carney discusses his new book, “Alienated America,” in the second Koch Lecture Series lecture of the semester
On Tuesday, the Department of History and Political Science and the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) hosted “Alienated America.” The lecture is the second installment of this semester’s Koch Lecture Series.
The event was inspired by speaker Timothy P. Carney’s book by the same name. Carney is an AEI fellow, author and political journalist. While all of his books feature politics and economics as major themes, “Alienated America” focuses more specifically on the importance of community.
Carney was inspired to write about this topic primarily because of a speech made by President Donald Trump who said the American dream is dead. Carney wondered why so many people supported Trump when he made such controversial claims and what made them give up hope on the American dream.
“Where does the American dream seem dead? [It’s] where there isn’t as thick a network of community institutions — where people don’t belong to as many things,” Carney said. “The economic explanation is definitely part of it, but the core of the problem in so much of working class, middle America is that in our social fabric, people are less connected to their neighbors.”
Carney has traveled across the U.S. to gain perspective on communities and groups of people, especially during election seasons. Among his most popular places to visit are the local bars, which Carney says allow average people an opportunity to speak on a variety of issues.
According to Carney, during the 2016 election cycle, many people spoke about “the lazy, undeserving poor,” who they said did not work, but took advantage of the government.
Carney said that while it was his job to be at that bar on a Tuesday afternoon, he became judgmental of some of those people who seemed hypocritical to him.
Carney recounted one instance when he questioned a man named Dave at the bar. According to Carney, Dave was unemployed because of a back injury that prevented him from doing manual labor. When Carney asked Dave why he could not do a desk job, Dave replied that he could not spend half an hour at a desk.
“I said, ‘Dave, you’ve been sitting at that bar stool for about an hour and a half,’” Carney said. “That’s when he looks at me and says, ‘Well, I’m numb because my son died this morning.’”
Carney said that moment was instrumental in understanding why so many people voted for Trump. To these individuals who had lost so much, the idea of a dead American dream wasn’t an omen, but a reality.
“I knew the data of the drug use and the overdose of death. I knew the broader story about the collapse of culture [and] community … but I hadn’t really taken it to heart until I was looking it in the eyes,” Carney said.
When Carney traveled across the country, he visited places like Iowa, Pennsylvania and Michigan, speaking to a variety of voters. According to him, the highly educated, community-driven individuals seemed to be the most opposed to Trump, believing the American dream was attainable.
However, for lower-income individuals who lacked a sense of community, voting for Trump wasn’t something that was done out of ignorance, but a need to regain control in their lives, according to Carney.
Carney said there are many reasons a community may fail, and while there is no single solution, there are steps people can take to strengthen their community. One notable way is to be involved in different groups, whether that is through working with local schools, participating in church events or communicating with neighbors more.
While Carney believes everyone should be involved in community, he says it is especially important for Christians, who are behind many social movements. Carney said the best way for Christians to participate in community is to be unapologetic in faith and do what Jesus has commanded.
“We’re the ones who are running the soup kitchens, and we’re doing it because Jesus told us to,” Carney said. “We’re not proselytizing or demanding that you agree with us. We’re just going to tell you the reason we’re doing this is because we love God and this is what we think God expects from us.”
Carney said being shy and trying to please others will not strengthen a community. But by demonstrating faith through action, Carney said Christians can work alongside other groups to create better communities for all.
Many attendees found the title “Alienated America” to be misleading, expecting Carney to discuss immigration and poverty among Latinx communities. When Carney spoke, instead, about mostly white, evangelical communities, the audience was encouraged to look inward at how they interact within the community at Azusa Pacific.
AEI Chairman and Koch fellow Caleb Linden expressed his appreciation for Carney’s speech.
“It touches on a very big issue in American society,” Linden said. “People need to build communities and support the community that [they] end up in.”
Linden said while APU does a good job being a part of the community, he believes there is always room to do more.