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vivek murthy
In the Mess of Our National Disaster, Can We Find the Seeds to Renew Democracy?
History suggests that disaster not only destroys—it also disrupts. It crushes old assumptions, forcing people to see one another, to respond, to rebuild.
Apr 09, 2025
In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a stark warning: America is suffering from an epidemic of loneliness, and the consequences are dire. “If we fail to [address this crisis], we will pay an ever-increasing price in the form of our individual and collective health and well-being,” he wrote. Then came the line that now feels prophetic: “We will continue to splinter and divide until we can no longer stand as a community or a country.”
This country is certainly dividing, and whether it can stand remains to be seen. As an immigrant from apartheid-era South Africa and a Californian shaken by the fires, I love and fear for the country I have known as home since adolescence. Having grown up in a society fractured by systemic oppression and seeing firsthand how division and authoritarianism hollow out a nation, I recognize the peril America faces. Trump and his allies have solidified their hold on power, reshaping institutions to entrench minority rule, while political violence moves from the fringes to the mainstream. State leaders openly defy court rulings, and democratic backsliding is no longer a theoretical threat but a lived reality. The consequences stretch far beyond our borders, fueling global instability.
Given everything at stake—from escalating climate disasters to an economy teetering on crisis—many are wondering: Are we entirely lost?
No, I say. It’s disastrous, yes. But it is precisely in the disastrous that we may find the seeds of renewal.
We now have a choice: Succumb to panic, numbness, and doomscrolling; or take purposeful action by confronting disaster head-on.
The reality is that democracy has been eroding for years; climate disruption worsens daily. The difference now is that we can no longer ignore the truth of our situation. Mass deportations. The rise of authoritarianism. A looming constitutional crisis. Wildfires, hurricanes, bomb cyclones, rising sea levels. The unraveling is no longer theoretical. It is here.
And this recognition could be our saving grace.
Murthy’s warning underscores the link between personal loneliness, social fragmentation, and political chaos. As Hannah Arendt wrote in The Origins of Totalitarianism, “The isolation of atomized individuals provides the mass basis for totalitarian rule.” Contemporary research supports her argument. A 2021 RAND Corporation study found loneliness is a primary driver for adopting extremist views and joining extremist groups. A 2022 study published in Political Psychology found that weak social bonds correlate with lower voter turnout and increased support for populist parties.
In this context, the disastrous might offer an unexpected antidote.
Charles Fritz, a sociologist who helped lead the University of Chicago’s Disaster Research Project in the 1950s, analyzed a broad data set of catastrophic events and concluded: “The widespread sharing of danger, loss, and deprivation produces an intimate, primary group solidarity among the survivors, which overcomes social isolation, provides a channel for intimate communication and expression, and provides a major source of physical and emotional support and reassurance.” There is ample further evidence to back up his conclusion, as Rebecca Solnit documents at length in A Paradise Built in Hell.
We are wired to adapt to slow declines, to normalize the unraveling. But disaster shatters the illusion of stability. It forces a reckoning. History suggests that disaster not only destroys—it also disrupts. It crushes old assumptions, forcing people to see one another, to respond, to rebuild.
Most of us aren’t living in an actual disaster zone right now. But when we see images of Los Angeles burning, Asheville flooding, or state officials openly defying the rule of law, we feel the urgency of the moment.
We now have a choice: Succumb to panic, numbness, and doomscrolling; or take purposeful action by confronting disaster head-on. This isn’t just about responding to immediate crises, but about addressing the isolation and division that have fueled them. By acting with intention, we don’t just face disaster—we undo the fragmentation that made it possible.
Growing up under apartheid, I learned how systems of oppression function and how they fail. I saw firsthand that division is not inevitable, that transformation is possible—but only when people refuse to be passive in the face of crisis. Former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln understood this too. “We are not enemies, but friends,” he declared in his first inaugural address in 1861, on the eve of national collapse. “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.” Those bonds of affection, Lincoln said, could be rekindled by the “better angels of our nature.” He knew then what we must remember now: Survival depends on rebuilding these bonds.
Regardless of how our political situation unfolds, we are entering an era of massive upheaval, and none of us will remain untouched. Whether through fire, flood, or political collapse, displacement is no longer a distant threat—it is a certainty.
Can you feel it? The disaster at your doorstep?
Let it inspire you to act. Talk to the neighbor who voted red. Reach out to your friends. Volunteer with organizations fighting for justice. Host a community discussion, support local activism, or donate to causes that uplift marginalized communities. Advocate for change by calling your representatives. Support artists and thinkers who challenge the status quo. Every action—big or small—helps rebuild what’s been broken.
Let the better angels of our nature prevail. It’s the only way forward.
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State AGs Launch Lawsuit Against TikTok for Harming Children
"We are suing TikTok to protect young people and help combat the nationwide youth mental health crisis," explained New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Oct 08, 2024
Attorneys general from over a dozen states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday announced lawsuits against TikTok, accusing the company behind the popular social media platform of deliberately making the site addictive for children and deceiving the public about its dangers.
"We're suing the social media giant TikTok for exploiting young users and deceiving the public about the dangers the platform poses to our youth," Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta
explained Tuesday morning in San Francisco. "Together, with my fellow state AGs, we will hold TikTok to account, stop its exploitation of our young people, and end its deceit."
New York Attorney General Letitia James, also a Democrat, said in a
statement that "young people are struggling with their mental health because of addictive social media platforms like TikTok."
"TikTok claims that their platform is safe for young people, but that is far from true," she continued. "In New York and across the country, young people have died or gotten injured doing dangerous TikTok challenges and many more are feeling more sad, anxious, and depressed because of TikTok's addictive features."
"Today, we are suing TikTok to protect young people and help combat the nationwide youth mental health crisis," James added. "Kids and families across the country are desperate for help to address this crisis, and we are doing everything in our power to protect them."
James' office said in a
statement:
TikTok uses a variety of addictive features to keep users on its platform longer, which leads to poorer mental health outcomes. Multiple studies have found a link between excessive social media use, poor sleep quality, and poor mental health among young people. According to the U.S. surgeon general, young people who spend more than three hours per day on social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes, including symptoms of depression and anxiety.
According to James' office, TikTok's addictive features include:
- Around-the-clock notifications that can lead to poor sleep patterns for young users;
- Autoplay of an endless stream of videos that manipulates users into compulsively spending more time on the platform with no option to disable;
- Attention-grabbing content that keeps young users on the platform longer;
- TikTok "stories" and TikTok live content that is only available temporarily to entice users to tune in immediately or lose the opportunity to interact;
- A highlighted "likes" and comments section as a form of social validation, which can impact young users' self-esteem; and
- Beauty filters that alter one's appearance and can lower young users' self-esteem.
The attorneys general also accuse TikTok of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which is meant to shield children's online data; of falsely claiming that its platform is safe for children; and of lying about the effectiveness of its so-called safety tools meant to mitigate harms to youth.
In addition to California and New York, the following states are part of the new lawsuit: Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont, and Washington. So is the District of Columbia.
All told, 23 states have now filed lawsuits targeting TikTok's harms to children.
However, the issue is by no means limited to TikTok. Last October, dozens of U.S. states
sued Meta—which owns the social media sites Facebook and Instagram—for allegedly violating consumer protection laws by designing their apps to be addictive, especially to minors.
Twitter, the social platform known as X since shortly after it was
purchased by Elon Musk in 2022 for $44 billion, was sued in 2021 by child sex trafficking victims for allowing the publication of sexually explicit images of minors and refusing to remove them as requested by the plaintiffs and their parents.
Last month, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
published a report detailing how social media and streaming companies endanger children and teens who use their platforms. The report's publication sparked renewed calls for Congress to pass legislation including the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act and Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) to better safeguard minors against the companies' predatory practices.
However, rights groups including the ACLU condemned KOSA, which the civil liberties organization
warned "would violate the First Amendment by enabling the federal government to dictate what information people can access online and encourage social media platforms to censor protected speech."
The two bills—which were
overwhelmingly passed by the U.S. Senate in July—were last month approved for advancement in the House of Representatives.
In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory on "the growing concerns about the effects of social media on youth mental health."
The White House simultaneously announced the creation of a federal task force "to advance the health, safety, and privacy of minors online with particular attention to preventing and mitigating the adverse health effects of online platforms."
Murthy has also called for tobacco-like warning labels on social media to address the platform's possible harms to children and teens.
Some critics are wary of singling out TikTok—which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance—for political or xenophobic purposes.
Earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law a $95 billion foreign aid package containing a possible nationwide TikTok ban. The legislation requires ByteDance to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese company within a year or face a federal ban. TikTok subsequently sued the federal government over the potential ban.
Approximately 170 million Americans use TikTok, which is especially popular among members of Gen-Z and small-to-medium-sized businesses, and contributes tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy annually.
Evan Greer, who heads the digital rights group Fight for the Future, slammed the law as "one of the stupidest and most authoritarian pieces of tech legislation we've seen in years."
However, children's advocates welcomed the new lawsuits.
"We are pleased to see so many state attorneys general holding TikTok accountable for deliberately causing harms to young people," said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay. "Between state and private lawsuits, state legislation, and Federal Trade Commission enforcement actions, the tide is turning against Big Tech, and it's clear the status quo of social media companies harming kids cannot and will not continue."
"Now we need leaders in the House to join their Senate counterparts in passing the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens' Online Privacy Protection Act so that all platforms, not just those involved in legal settlements, will have to be safe by design for children from day one," Golin added.
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'Pivotal Moment': US Surgeon General Declares Gun Violence a Public Health Crisis
"To protect the health and well-being of Americans, especially our children, we must now act with the clarity, courage, and urgency that this moment demands," the surgeon general said.
Jun 25, 2024
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a Surgeon General's Advisory on firearm violence on Tuesday, calling it a "public health crisis."
The advisory marks the first time that the nation's leading physician has published a warning on gun violence, which now joins the ranks of tobacco, skin cancer, and opioids as the subject of a surgeon general's publication.
"Firearm violence is a public health crisis," Murthy said in a video message announcing the report. "Our failure to address it is a moral crisis. To protect the health and well-being of Americans, especially our children, we must now act with the clarity, courage, and urgency that this moment demands."
The report comes after gun violence deaths in the U.S. reached their highest level in 30 years in 2021. According to the report, 54% of U.S. adults have either experienced a firearm-related incident directly or have a family member who has. Of those impacted, 21% were threatened with a firearm; 19% lost a family member to guns, including by suicide; 17% saw someone being shot; 4% used a gun to defend themselves; and 4% were injured by one.
Gun violence has been especially devastating for children. As of 2020, firearm injury overtook car accidents, cancer, drug overdoses, and poisoning as the leading cause of death for young people ages 1 to 19.
The U.S. stands out among similar nations for its level of gun violence. In 2015, the U.S. had 11.4 times the rate of gun-related deaths compared with 28 other high-income countries, and more than 90% of the children who died due to gun violence in those countries died in the U.S.
"I know it's been polarizing and I know it's been politicized, but if we can see it as a public health issue, we can come together and implement a public health solution."
While mass shootings grab headline attention and are on the rise, they only account for around 1% of gun-related deaths. The rise in gun-related deaths is in large part fueled by an increase in gun homicides over the past 10 years and gun suicides over the past 20. Still, mass-shootings take a disproportionate toll on the nation's mental health, with more than three quarters of U.S. adults reporting stress due to worries about experiencing one.
"Our children should not have to live in fear that they are going to get shot if they go to school. None of us should have to worry that going to the mall or concert, or house of worship means putting our lives at risk, or that we'll get a call that a loved one in a moment of crisis has taken their own life with a firearm," Murthy said. "All of us, regardless of our background or beliefs, want to live in a world that is safe for us and our children."
The issue of gun violence has been heavily politicized in recent years, something Murthy has both acknowledged and experienced. After comments he made about gun violence, the firearm lobby and some Senate Republicans opposed Murthy's confirmation as former U.S. President Barack Obama's surgeon general in 2014, The Associated Press explained. He was confirmed after promising not to use his office as a "bully pulpit on gun control."
Trump dismissed him as surgeon general in 2017 and, when President Joe Biden reappointed him, he again assured the Senate that gun violence would not be a priority during his tenure. However, Murthy also received counter-pressure to take up the issue from Democratic groups and other public health professionals, including four former surgeon generals.
"I want people to understand the full impact of firearm violence in our country, and I want them to see it as a public health issue," Murthy told The Washington Post. "I know it's been polarizing and I know it's been politicized, but if we can see it as a public health issue, we can come together and implement a public health solution."
Murthy told KFF News that this approach helped the U.S. tackle other major killers, such as tobacco after the surgeon general's landmark warning in 1964 that smoking caused cancer and other ailments.
"We saved so many lives, and that's what we can do here, too," Murthy said.
"There are many powerful forces who downplay the threat of gun violence because the status quo benefits them financially or politically, and I'm grateful that Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy had the courage to do what he knows is best for our nation's health."
That said, the report does include recommendations that will require a political compromise in Congress, including a ban on automatic rifles and large-capacity magazines, universal background checks, more restrictions on firearms in public spaces, more penalties for improper safeguarding of firearms, and regulating firearms like any other consumer product.
The report also calls for measures such as community violence prevention programs, improved access to mental health services, and additional research into the best ways to reduce gun violence.
The advisory was welcomed by members of the public health community as well as gun violence prevention advocates.
"Today marks a pivotal moment in public health as the surgeon general has issued a new advisory declaring gun violence a public health crisis. As a pediatric surgeon and advocate for safer communities, I am deeply moved and resolute in supporting this call to action," Dr. Chethan Sathya, vice president of strategic initiatives and director of gun violence at Northwell Health, wrote on social media.
Joseph Sakran, executive vice chair of surgery at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and chief medical officer for Brady United Against Gun Violence, told KFF Health News that the advisory was a "historic moment that sounds the alarm for all Americans."
In a statement, Sakran continued: "Historically, we have seen how the release of surgeon general reports on public health issues such as the dangers of smoking ignited a wave of policy, legal, and public health initiatives that saved countless American lives and in this case led to deprogramming our nation from the tobacco industry's lies. We hope this report will have the same resounding impact on the gun violence epidemic."
Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), founder of gun control organization GIFFORDS, said: "I have seen firsthand how shootings are a major threat to Americans' lives and well-being, and our leaders must view the problem as the public health crisis it is. There are many powerful forces who downplay the threat of gun violence because the status quo benefits them financially or politically, and I'm grateful that Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy had the courage to do what he knows is best for our nation's health. Policymakers at every level of government have a responsibility to heed the declaration and take urgent action to protect their communities."
March For Our Lives noted on social media that the advisory came after "years of activist pressure."
"The gun lobby fought hard, but data doesn't lie," the group wrote. "Our push for more research and tighter laws is paying off, and we're starting to win BIG."
Both Sakran and Sathya argued that the report was not an end in itself, but a gateway to more effective prevention efforts.
"Let's heed this advisory not as a mere recommendation, but as a clarion call to action," Sathya concluded. "Together, we can turn the tide on gun violence and create a healthier, safer environment for all."
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