The guy pictured above, Chris Murphy, is a United States Senator from Connecticut. Murphy has been an articulate advocate for stronger gun safety laws - and gun safety is probably the issue with which he is most closely associated. Relatively recently, though, Murphy has been helping to spearhead an effort to address what he frankly calls a "metaphysical problem," namely, the problem of "social isolation and loneliness." A column by Matthew Shaer, published in The New York Times, makes clear that this problem is very real - and very extensive. Shaer's column is titled, "Why Is the Loneliness Epidemic so Hard to Cure?"
S. 3437 is a bill that Murphy has co-authored with Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, to address this "metaphysical" problem. The bill focuses specifically on social isolation and loneliness affecting older Americans. If you click the link I have provided to the bill number, above, you can read the bill language in its entirety. Click right here for a "one pager," authored by Senator Murphy, for a short summary of the bill, which is aimed at developing "a national strategy for social connection."
For an additional discussion of Murphy's bill - and a discussion about the problem it seeks to address - see if The New York Times will permit you to read a "Guest Essay" from its August 25, 2024, edition. That "Guest Essay" was authored by James Pogue. Pogue's essay is titled, "The Senator Warning Democrats of a Crisis Unfolding Beneath Their Noses." The "crisis" is, exactly, that "social isolation and loneliness" that Murphy is targeting in his proposed legislation.
I am someone who is arguably in the "old guy" category - the category focused on by S. 3437 - and I would like to suggest that social isolation and loneliness are not uniquely issues that affect the elderly. I am inclined to think these really are "metaphysical problems," afflicting people in every age category. Furthermore, the age issue aside, I do not think that legislation, or action by governmental agencies, as called for by S. 3437, is likely to be an effective way to counter our very real social isolation and loneliness.
Instead of legislation, I think the best way to fight off both loneliness and social isolation - which are truly real, and truly serious problems - is to get engaged with others, in small groups, and then to "do something," as Michelle Obama advised the Democratic National Convention.
"Find Some Friends," in other words, as I have regularly been suggesting, and then get that small group of friends engaged in some action that can make a difference. That could even be politics! In fact, my personal experience says that "politics," indeed, can help fight loneliness, and there is no doubt at all that it can help change the world!
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