Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Tim’s American future

This is the first in a 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.

Tim’s American future
Getty Images

Debilyn Molineaux serves as the catalyst for the American Future project to help everyday Americans discover and believe in a future that will be "worth it" to work together for the sake of our nation.

My new weekly column, American Future, will report on the desired future of everyday Americans as I interview a few people each week from across the nation. The four-week journey began on November 9, 2023. Zoom interviews will be ongoing.


Tim and I sat down on October 31, 2023 at my dining room table.

Debilyn: Hello Tim, it's good to sit down and talk about a future that you'd like to have for yourself - how far in the future are you thinking?

Tim: Let's go with five years.

OK, so where are you in five years? That would be 2028.

Tim: I'll be living in a small house that I own. It's a single family home that I share with others - namely my wife and child. Just one child in five years. The house is filled with possessions we love. It's a quiet neighborhood, similar to where I grew up. It may be in Maryland, or California or Illinois.

What will you be most proud of, in 2028?

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Tim: My family and the people around me. I'm proud that I've helped others to grow and contributed to their accomplishments and achievements. I've made them happy. I'm also proud that I'm mostly self-sufficient and capable of taking care of myself.

In 2028, how will you spend your average day?

Tim: I'll wake up early and work out. I may do some household chores. Then I'll likely cook breakfast for my family. During the day, I'll spend time doing social work. It will be a mix of in-person and virtual, helping people to work out their problems. In the evening, it's time to relax with family and friends. Having time to play is very important to me. I'll have a few evenings to myself, maybe 2-3x per week, where I'll go out. Evenings and weekends are for having fun with friends and family.

How does your 2028 self feel, most of the time?

Tim: I am generally pretty content and able to keep anxiety at bay; to keep myself afloat. It depends on how much the world improves, and if it does, I'll feel capable and secure. Compared to myself in 2023, I am calmer and optimistic about the future. I also feel self-directed with clarity about what to do.

What are your three priority values in 2028?

Tim: Self awareness, temperance and kindness.

What does the community that supports your future need to include?

Tim: Higher compensation for social workers! I make a lot more today in tech than I could as a social worker. I would need the ability to live comfortably with a family on one income, that could take the form of higher wages, lower housing costs, universal basic income, etc. We will need community based childcare, something that the families in the neighborhood could do together. We need a community where meeting basic needs is easy, from housing to activities to transportation to healthy food. Also, there is a new norm of handling conflict in a healthy way -- sometimes through compromise. There is an element of seeking to understand others, first.

Is there anything you can do today or in the near future to co-create the future you vision?

Tim: I'm looking for a partner to start a family.

This piece was originally published on November 2, 2023 AmericanFuture.us

Read More

Defining the Democracy Movement: Karissa Raskin
- YouTube

Defining the Democracy Movement: Karissa Raskin

The Fulcrum presents The Path Forward: Defining the Democracy Reform Movement. Scott Warren's interview series engages diverse thought leaders to elevate the conversation about building a thriving and healthy democratic republic that fulfills its potential as a national social and political game-changer. This initiative is the start of focused collaborations and dialogue led by The Bridge Alliance and The Fulcrum teams to help the movement find a path forward.

Karissa Raskin is the new CEO of the Listen First Project, a coalition of over 500 nationwide organizations dedicated to bridging differences. The coalition aims to increase social cohesion across American society and serves as a way for bridging organizations to compare notes, share resources, and collaborate broadly. Karissa, who is based in Jacksonville, served as the Director of Coalition Engagement for a number of years before assuming the CEO role this February.

Keep ReadingShow less
Business professional watching stocks go down.
Getty Images, Bartolome Ozonas

The White House Is Booming, the Boardroom Is Panicking

The Confidence Collapse

Consumer confidence is plummeting—and that was before the latest Wall Street selloffs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Drain—More Than Fight—Authoritarianism and Censorship
Getty Images, Mykyta Ivanov

Drain—More Than Fight—Authoritarianism and Censorship

The current approaches to proactively counteracting authoritarianism and censorship fall into two main categories, which we call “fighting” and “Constitution-defending.” While Constitution-defending in particular has some value, this article advocates for a third major method: draining interest in authoritarianism and censorship.

“Draining” refers to sapping interest in these extreme possibilities of authoritarianism and censorship. In practical terms, it comes from reducing an overblown sense of threat of fellow Americans across the political spectrum. When there is less to fear about each other, there is less desire for authoritarianism or censorship.

Keep ReadingShow less
"Vote" pin.
Getty Images, William Whitehurst

Most Americans’ Votes Don’t Matter in Deciding Elections

New research from the Unite America Institute confirms a stark reality: Most ballots cast in American elections don’t matter in deciding the outcome. In 2024, just 14% of eligible voters cast a meaningful vote that actually influenced the outcome of a U.S. House race. For state house races, on average across all 50 states, just 13% cast meaningful votes.

“Too many Americans have no real say in their democracy,” said Unite America Executive Director Nick Troiano. “Every voter deserves a ballot that not only counts, but that truly matters. We should demand better than ‘elections in name only.’”

Keep ReadingShow less