Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Johnny’s American future

Johnny Addams

Johnny Addams

Photo courtesy Johnny Addams

This is part of a weekly series of interviews by Debilyn Molineaux, project director for AmericanFuture.US This project's mission is to help everyday Americans to imagine a better future for themselves, and together we’ll write the next chapter of the United States of America.

Johnny Addams was interviewed in Omaha, Neb., on Nov. 12, 2023, as part of The Coffee Shop Tour. Ironically, he doesn’t drink coffee and we met at his home. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Debilyn Molineaux: How far would you like to imagine together? We recommend somewhere between two and 20 years. What sounds right for you?

Johnny Addams: Twenty years, to 2043.

DM: Where are you in 20 years?

JA: According to my desire for my personal life, I see myself in upstate New York, I’m living there with my family. I’m working as an airline pilot, flying in and out of JFK. Potentially living in the Buffalo area, and based at JFK from there. I have a lot of family and friends around me. A lot of them are in the Mormon community.


DM: What will you be most proud of?

JA: My marriage and family. We are very close. Who I’ve become as a man of faith with a close family. Being a pilot.

DM: How will you spend your day?

JA: I’m a pilot that generally flies internationally. I would have a couple of days flying, likely out of the country. When I’m not working, I’m spending time with my family, I have hobbies like fishing, playing with pets, and gardening. Maybe involved in advocacy for something down the line.

I want to spend a lot of time with my family when I have my off days, since I won’t see them when I’m working. I’ll do things with them that are recreational, like travel often. I’m hoping that’s an option in the future, meeting new people and exploring their culture with my family. We’ll also watch movies, go to parks. Family is my first priority.

DM: What is your family like? A wife? Kids?

JA: I have a wife, and at least three but as many as five kids.

DM: How old are your kids?

JA: The oldest is 15 and the youngest is between 2 and 7 years old.

DM: How will you feel, most of the time?

JA: When I’m with my family, I feel immense joy. I’ve been praying for a family my whole life. My family means everything to me, as my family in 2023 is everything to me now – they set a really good standard for me. Being a religious person, very religious, very involved with my church, I know that family is the most important thing in the world. And not in a metaphorical sense, but in a literal sense. They are a priority for me, everything else is secondary. I also feel joy when I’m flying. Challenges will come up, worldly challenges, and in 2043, I have confidence in navigating those challenges. I know that it will all work out.

DM: What will be your three-to-five priority values?

JA: Patience, for myself and others. I understand that what I want takes time.

More humility, more than I have in 2023. Being humble is necessary to take my life where I want to be. It’s hard to be too humble, this will be a lifetime pursuit.

Compassion for others.

DM: I want to go back to humility. What is humility to you?

JA: There are a couple of aspects. There is humility in admitting that you are not correct on something. That is a very difficult thing to do, especially for me. I recognize my challenge in 2023, and I want to change more so I can be in a situation where I have a family and a strong job. Again, humility takes a long lifetime to change. It will be vital. The second aspect of humility is the religious aspect. Humility to God, the Heavenly Father as we call him in our church. Being able to submit – we have a concept of submitting our will to the Father. We have plans (for ourselves), but He also has plans for us. We need to figure out and adapt to what He wants us to do.

DM: Similarly, can you dive a little deeper on what compassion means to you?

JA: Compassion goes along with humility. Accepting, in some ways, that you aren’t correct. A part of humility is compassion and treating people the way you want to be treated. Compassion is also understanding. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. As I look at others, I’ve wondered a lot about how other people think and how something might appear different to them. So compassion is slowing down a minute to consider what they might think, from their perspective. There is some curiosity, “why are they doing that?” instead of judging them.

DM: What does the community that supports your future need to include? It could be a physical community, faith community, pilot community. Define it as you wish.

JA: I’m planning my life around my current community, that’s the community of my faith. There is a Mormon community in Buffalo, where I’ll be. And I’m already part of that community. My future self will support me being a pilot that is not there 100 percent, the community will help with my family. I’m not connected deeply to the city of Buffalo itself, nor do I need anything from the non-faith community. I’m there, being a good person and contributing as best I can. My social life is centered around my faith community or with pilot friends. I’ll have a private pilot’s license and I’ll be able to fly small aircraft in and out. Aviation and faith are my main source of community. I hadn’t thought of how I might relate to the local community. I may reconsider this.

DM: Is there anything you can do today or in the near future to influence or co-create the community that will support you in 2043?

JA: In the back of my head, I think about the way the world is going with international conflicts. As a religious person, I believe in prophecy that it will get bad, but there isn’t a reason to fear. I’m prepared to adapt. In my faith, we are taught to plan for the future, not the apocalypse.

Read More

news app
New platforms help overcome biased news reporting
Tero Vesalainen/Getty Images

The Selective Sanctity of Death: When Empathy Depends on Skin Color

Rampant calls to avoid sharing the video of Charlie Kirk’s death have been swift and emphatic across social media. “We need to keep our souls clean,” journalists plead. “Where are social media’s content moderators?” “How did we get so desensitized?” The moral outrage is palpable; the demands for human dignity urgent and clear.

But as a Black woman who has been forced to witness the constant virality of Black death, I must ask: where was this widespread anger for George Floyd? For Philando Castile? For Daunte Wright? For Tyre Nichols?

Keep ReadingShow less
Following Jefferson: Promoting Inter-Generational Understanding Through Constitution-Making
Mount Rushmore
Photo by John Bakator on Unsplash

Following Jefferson: Promoting Inter-Generational Understanding Through Constitution-Making

No one can denounce the New York Yankee fan for boasting that her favorite ballclub has won more World Series championships than any other. At 27 titles, the Bronx Bombers claim more than twice their closest competitor.

No one can question admirers of the late, great Chick Corea, or the equally astonishing Alison Krauss, for their virtually unrivaled Grammy victories. At 27 gold statues, only Beyoncé and Quincy Jones have more in the popular categories.

Keep ReadingShow less
A close up of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement badge.

Trump’s mass deportations promise security but deliver economic pain, family separation, and chaos. Here’s why this policy is failing America.

Getty Images, Tennessee Witney

The Cruel Arithmetic of Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

As summer 2025 winds down, the Trump administration’s deportation machine is operating at full throttle—removing over one million people in six months and fulfilling a campaign promise to launch the “largest deportation operation in American history.” For supporters, this is a victory lap for law and order. For the rest of the lot, it’s a costly illusion—one that trades complexity for spectacle and security for chaos.

Let’s dispense with the fantasy first. The administration insists that mass deportations will save billions, reduce crime, and protect American jobs. But like most political magic tricks, the numbers vanish under scrutiny. The Economic Policy Institute warns that this policy could destroy millions of jobs—not just for immigrants but for U.S.-born workers in sectors like construction, elder care, and child care. That’s not just a fiscal cliff—it is fewer teachers, fewer caregivers, and fewer homes built. It is inflation with a human face. In fact, child care alone could shrink by over 15%, leaving working parents stranded and employers scrambling.

Meanwhile, the Peterson Institute projects a drop in GDP and employment, while the Penn Wharton School’s Budget Model estimates that deporting unauthorized workers over a decade would slash Social Security revenue and inflate deficits by nearly $900 billion. That’s not a typo. It’s a fiscal cliff dressed up as border security.

And then there’s food. Deporting farmworkers doesn’t just leave fields fallow—it drives up prices. Analysts predict a 10% spike in food costs, compounding inflation and squeezing families already living paycheck to paycheck. In California, where immigrant renters are disproportionately affected, eviction rates are climbing. The Urban Institute warns that deportations are deepening the housing crisis by gutting the construction workforce. So much for protecting American livelihoods.

But the real cost isn’t measured in dollars. It’s measured in broken families, empty classrooms, and quiet despair. The administration has deployed 10,000 armed service members to the border and ramped up “self-deportation” tactics—policies so harsh they force people to leave voluntarily. The result: Children skipping meals because their parents fear applying for food assistance; Cancer patients deported mid-treatment; and LGBTQ+ youth losing access to mental health care. The Human Rights Watch calls it a “crueler world for immigrants.” That’s putting it mildly.

This isn’t targeted enforcement. It’s a dragnet. Green card holders, long-term residents, and asylum seekers are swept up alongside undocumented workers. Viral videos show ICE raids at schools, hospitals, and churches. Lawsuits are piling up. And the chilling effect is real: immigrant communities are retreating from public life, afraid to report crimes or seek help. That’s not safety. That’s silence. Legal scholars warn that the administration’s tactics—raids at schools, churches, and hospitals—may violate Fourth Amendment protections and due process norms.

Even the administration’s security claims are shaky. Yes, border crossings are down—by about 60%, thanks to policies like “Remain in Mexico.” But deportation numbers haven’t met the promised scale. The Migration Policy Institute notes that monthly averages hover around 14,500, far below the millions touted. And the root causes of undocumented immigration—like visa overstays, which account for 60% of cases—remain untouched.

Crime reduction? Also murky. FBI data shows declines in some areas, but experts attribute this more to economic trends than immigration enforcement. In fact, fear in immigrant communities may be making things worse. When people won’t talk to the police, crimes go unreported. That’s not justice. That’s dysfunction.

Public opinion is catching up. In February, 59% of Americans supported mass deportations. By July, that number had cratered. Gallup reports a 25-point drop in favor of immigration cuts. The Pew Research Center finds that 75% of Democrats—and a growing number of independents—think the policy goes too far. Even Trump-friendly voices like Joe Rogan are balking, calling raids on “construction workers and gardeners” a betrayal of common sense.

On social media, the backlash is swift. Users on X (formerly Twitter) call the policy “ineffective,” “manipulative,” and “theater.” And they’re not wrong. This isn’t about solving immigration. It’s about staging a show—one where fear plays the villain and facts are the understudy.

The White House insists this is what voters wanted. But a narrow electoral win isn’t a blank check for policies that harm the economy and fray the social fabric. Alternatives exist: Targeted enforcement focused on violent offenders; visa reform to address overstays; and legal pathways to fill labor gaps. These aren’t radical ideas—they’re pragmatic ones. And they don’t require tearing families apart to work.

Trump’s deportation blitz is a mirage. It promises safety but delivers instability. It claims to protect jobs but undermines the very sectors that keep the country running. It speaks the language of law and order but acts with the recklessness of a demolition crew. Alternatives exist—and they work. Cities that focus on community policing and legal pathways report higher public safety and stronger economies. Reform doesn’t require cruelty. It requires courage.

Keep ReadingShow less
Multi-colored speech bubbles overlapping.

Stanford’s Strengthening Democracy Challenge shows a key way to reduce political violence: reveal that most Americans reject it.

Getty Images, MirageC

In the Aftermath of Assassinations, Let’s Show That Americans Overwhelmingly Disapprove of Political Violence

In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination—and the assassination of Minnesota state legislator Melissa Hortman only three months ago—questions inevitably arise about how to reduce the likelihood of similar heinous actions.

Results from arguably the most important study focused on the U.S. context, the Strengthening Democracy Challenge run by Stanford University, point to one straightforward answer: show people that very few in the other party support political violence. This approach has been shown to reduce support for political violence.

Keep ReadingShow less