In the late 1940s and early 50s, a comedian named Fred Allen had a popular radio show. Its title changed over the years — “Hour of Smiles,” “ Town Hall
Do you, like me, suffer from malaise?
Jim Nowlan
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In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter supposedly worried that Americans were suffering from collective malaise, the French word for an underlying feeling of discomfort, uneasiness. Carter was roundly ridiculed. A few years later, President Ronald Reagan campaigned in 1984 on the theme, in sharp contrast: “It’s morning again in America.” Whether that were true, the Reagan positivity fueled his successful re-election.
But today, I do feel a sense of personal malaise about how things are going in our country. Do you feel like I do? And if so, why, and what can we do about it?