Agency and Gratitude to Build a Stronger Country and Society

To say that we are a fractured country and society probably is an understatement in these complex times. I have been reflecting on what this means for our country’s future. But is that even the right way to think about it?

Rather than accepting the context within which we find ourselves, perhaps a better way to frame the question of our collective, complex moment would be: what does our country and society need to meet the challenges we face?

I have come to believe the answer is agency and gratitude.

A podcast was recently recommended to me called Huberman Lab. This podcast is hosted by Andrew Huberman, PhD, who is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the Department of Neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine. Huberman focuses on explaining how we can enhance our health by making the science behind how our body works accessible to the greater public.

Huberman’s most recent podcast discusses how to understand and assess one’s mental health.Together with Dr. Paul Conti, M.D., they explain “self” and its foundational elements, including the conscious and unconscious mind that drive our thoughts and behaviors.

At the outset of the podcast, Huberman asks a fundamental question that I believe we all ask ourselves: “what is the healthy version of self?” Conti’s answer: agency and gratitude. Conti extends the thought by stating: “If we have those two things [agency and gratitude]…you almost never see someone go wrong…even in difficulties.”

Conti further explains that “empowerment to navigate the world around us” gives rise to agency, and the recognition “we are part of a bigger system” gives rise to gratitude. If we approach the world through these two elements of agency and gratitude, we can then meet the world’s challenges effectively and with grace.

This makes a lot of sense to me – particularly as I reflect on my military service.

Agency and gratitude, I believe, are reflective of the culture and ethos of the military. The concept of service provides agency to affect the world around us positively, and gratitude to the nation elevates the service to something larger than self.

This made me wonder: is the lack of agency and gratitude in our country and societal culture, in-large-part, the nature of the problem we face?

I, for one, say yes.

What has happened in our country is there has been a diminishment – both in terms of emphasis and opportunity – for agency. Today, super-structures – from the federal government, to large corporate infrastructure, to big tech – have intervened into our individual agency. From starting a small business, to making individualize decisions about our kids’ education, our health, our income; to our consciousness about what we should think; all are being overtaken by super-structures in society.

Therefore, agency within our country and societal culture is at its nadir because our ability to serve and positively affect the world around us is gradually being overtaken by larger institutions. In other words, rather than serving something larger than self, our agency is increasingly constrained to the protected realm of our privacy, which is becoming smaller and smaller over time. Accordingly, this dynamic is making us more self-interested and protective of ourselves – rather than making us more open to giving to ideas greater than self.

Indeed, our country’s collective turn inward towards our political teams, our tribes, and ourselves is leading to the opposite of agency and gratitude. It is leading to self-interest and selfishness.

This is not sustainable for a country whose system is primarily designed to engage with the baser instincts of man. Our founders discussed the need for an “enlightened citizenry” and assumed we would naturally orient towards the things of life that are greater than self. For them, it was religion. But it could be anything that pulls our baser instincts beyond an exclusive focus on self. Our founders never contemplated that our government would have to inspire our individual selves towards gratitude and actions greater than self. Rather, our founders assumed our democratic Republic would directly benefit from individuals’ agency (through the protection of individual rights and liberty), which would, thereby, extend gratitude to its larger purpose.

Unfortunately, this may not be where we are at as a country.

We must work to further agency and gratitude across our country and society.

The question from here is…how?



Alex Gallo is the author of “Vetspective,” a RallyPoint series that discusses national security, foreign policy, politics, and society. He is also a fellow with George Mason University’s NationalSecurity Institute, an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at GeorgetownUniversity, and a US Army Veteran. Follow him on Twitter at @AlexGalloCMP.

Source: https://hubermanlab.com