Do you ever sit and wonder, “How did we get to this point in American history? What does it mean to be born now? What should we do next to help our future?” 

 

If you do, then you get me. 

This speech is my attempt to answer those three questions. 

 

I examine nine domains of contemporary life that I believe build a thorough picture of how we got here, where we are now, and where we might go: fundamental science, family, education, technology, art, religion, the economy, law, and government. However, while I see these as major domains, they are not isolated entities. Domains emerge from our society’s dense network of overlapping stories, systems, and structures. Pull on one domain, and parts of the others begin to shift because each one is embedded within the same interconnected whole. That whole is the network that makes us. 

 

This speech is not just a historical timeline, policy assessment, or life advice. It is also a metaphysical analysis. History can tell us how our society’s network formed. Policy can tell us what mechanisms in the network to change. Experts tell us what in the network to partake in that will make us healthy and happy. Metaphysics pushes us a little bit further: What does it mean to be a part of this reality—a part of this network? And how can this shared meaning unite us?