The Many Currents of the Effort to Improve America

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While the common narrative is that America is a nation of money-obsessed, selfish, and civically ignorant/apathetic people, that’s not the whole story.

To be sure, these elements are present in our culture and society and present in concerning levels. However, there’s another narrative out there, one that isn’t getting much of any attention unfortunately, but one that is profoundly uplifting and critically important. 

After years in the trenches as a civic activist, hundreds of thoughtful exchanges with Profit+ readers around the world, and over 60 podcast episodes with some of the most inspiring people in the world, I’ve come to believe something radical:

Despite all the vitriol, corruption, ineptitude, and ineffectiveness in American politics and governance, the great American experiment in self-government is alive and well. For there’s a whole army of Americans working tirelessly to create a better world and foster a more perfect Union. I’ve seen them with my own eyes and heard their stories with my own ears.

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America may look like it’s rotting from within but it is most definitely not. Concerned citizens are hard at work, on both sides of the aisle, and marshalling vast and unprecedented financial resources to the cause. 

Of course, the mainstream media is hardly covering this movement. I guess it’s not exciting or entertaining enough to get in the weeds on policy reform or to take a close look at the efforts of civic activists around the country. But that’s where the real action is. The rest is political theatre. 

I started the podcast, in large part, to create a forum to explore, spotlight, and champion the courageous individuals at the center of this national movement. I may not always agree with the ideas my podcast guests are pursuing but I admire their commitment to the cause of the greater good. I have released over 60 episodes of The Nick Halaris Show now and the more I get into this, the more I realize how big our civic army is. 

After interviewing politicians, authors, civic activists, non-profit leaders, socially conscious entrepreneurs, and financial experts every week for a couple years, I’m starting to see some patterns. From what I can tell, there are 7 key currents of the movement to create a better America:

1. Efforts to Improve Civil Discourse and Civic Engagement

2.  Election Reform

3. Socially Conscious Entrepreneurship and Investing

4. Efforts to Improve Housing Affordability

5. Classic Expressions of Selfless Service

6. Fairness Reform

7. Patriotic Policy Reform

Improving civil discourse and civic engagement is about reducing political and historical ignorance, overcoming media bias (Tangle), and encouraging bipartisanship (Bipartisan Policy Center).

The election reformers are pursuing multiple strategies—things like primary reform (Unite America), ranked choice voting and proportional representation (FairVote)—to try to change the incentive structure of American elections and make outcomes more representative of the will of the people. 

Socially conscious entrepreneurship and investing is all about using the immense power and incentive structures of capitalism as a force for good as well as profits. This is manifesting in everything from climate conscious business models (Zero, Our Hidden Worlds) to democratizing financial innovations (The 22 Fund, Worthy, Ownify, Acre Homes) to simply bringing business principles to bear to help address social issues like homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse (LA4LA, Holos Communities, Oberit, SDS Capital). 

Recognizing the paramount role that housing plays in the American psyche and its foundational role in creating a thriving citizenry, the housing affordability reformers (YIMBY Action, Abundant Housing LA, Climate Safe Villages) are fighting a multi-front battle against local political corruption, NIMBYism, over-regulation and bureaucratic inefficiency to solve, at last, the chronic shortage in housing.  

The selfless servants are busy doing what they always do: lifting up the sick, needy, and poor, helping the homeless, providing critical care to those in need, creating educational opportunities for those who don’t have them, and saving lives (GEANCO, Solidarity Engineering, Weingart Foundation, California Community Foundation). 

The fairness reformers are working on things like improving access to legal services and education, eliminating bias and inequity in the justice system, and leveling the playing field in the economy (Black College Success).

The patriotic policy reform movement is my catchall for those aiming at some policy or initiative that will obviously make us all better off here in America. This category includes everything from those working to revitalize American Industry (American Affairs, Open Markets Institute) to people trying to reduce gun violence to entrepreneurs and innovators hard at work building new businesses and industries.

Now you know why I said there’s an army out there! We’re talking about thousands and thousands of people working every day on endeavors intended to help us all. This is the very definition of civic responsibility in a democracy. 

What, then, should we take away from this? 

If you are concerned about America and want to help, you are not alone!

There’s no excuse to be a cynic. First of all, cynicism is just about the worst way to live. What has cynicism ever gotten anyone? Secondly, living in a democracy means that it’s never ok to just throw your hands up in despair and turn your back. There’s always something you can do. If you don’t have any ideas of your own, just throw your support to one of the many groups I have already featured on the podcast.

Finally, remember that the idea of America is not some settled thing. There’s no mythical past where America was greater than She is today. So long as there are enough of us willing to roll up our sleeves and do the hard work of democracy, so long as we keep our faith in the possibility of an ever more perfect Union, America will always be great.

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