As former President Barack Obama coldly reminded grieving parents in Texas, this Wednesday marked two years since the death of George Floyd and the subsequent “reckoning” that left city blocks across the country in ruins. Despite Covid, inflation, and war, the militant identity politics that summer revival solidified continue to dominate much of our civic discourse. TAC founding editor Scott McConnell reviewed the collapse of American cities in his latest for the magazine; things were getting better and better until suddenly, two years ago, they weren’t.

Alexander Zubatov examined another aspect of this identity obsessed politics in light of recent Gallup data showing LGBTQ identification continues to double, generation to generation. Belonging to a “sexual minority” has become high status, and teenagers, especially teenage girls, who are perhaps the most status-conscious demographic in the world, are responding to cultural signals that demand they not be stale and pale if they can help it. Meanwhile, the American birth rate continues to collapse, as the traditional family unit of husband, wife, and children grows ever more passé, even suspect.

Some things are suspect, though, to force a grinding gear shift. Kevin Stocklin has reported on the Biden administration’s exploring the development of a digital dollar. Such a move would multiply opportunities for the federal government to engage in surveillance and control of Americans’ financial transactions. The Chinese Communist Party has taken the lead on implementing the technology, which raises the question of what a self-governing republic is doing following right behind.

Best,
Micah Meadowcroft
Managing Editor

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