Pastor Steve Foss, First Baptist Church Sun Lakes
According to ChatGPT, the top issues facing Americans today are as follows:
Economy & Cost of Living: Many Americans say inflation, rising prices, and affordability are among the biggest problems. This includes the cost of food, housing, healthcare, and the gap between wages and expenses. It affects people across political lines, though the severity and underlying causes are debated.
Healthcare Access & Affordability: A large share of Americans see getting basic health care (and paying for it) as a “very big problem.” Even in a wealthy country, many face obstacles like high premiums, deductibles, or being uninsured. Chronic health issues, mental health, and drug addiction add to the strain.
Political Polarization & Institutional Trust: A major concern is the inability of the two major parties to work together and widespread distrust in core institutions. The disagreements are not just about policy but about facts, values, and the nature of democracy itself. This can hamper cooperation on other issues (e.g., infrastructure, reform) and increase social fragmentation.
(Based on recent polls and research)
I find ChatGPT to be fascinating and scary. The speed and scope of its information is fascinating. The reliability and source origins may be scary. Like I say, “It’s all about the messaging.” And this “new” technology, claiming to be the fastest and most reliable wordsmith tool since the introduction of personal computers, brings me to wonder: Who is programming this behemoth of information and analytics?
I asked ChatGPT, “What are the top issues facing Americans today?” And I just shared a portion of the concerns, according to the software’s sources (recent polls and research—but whose polls and research?). I learned long ago in a college statistics course that numbers can be manipulated to say anything you want them to say. It’s all in how they are parsed out. Well, the same applies to words.
For me, not much will change. I will seek to live within my means and not beyond them. I will try to take good care of my oral, physical, psychological, and, yes, spiritual health. It’s a lot more affordable when we live in a preventative way. I will seek to carefully evaluate the political landscape, mainly by reading a party’s platform.
To me, the top issue facing America today is the need for our citizens to understand the foundational precepts of our country’s origins: faith, family, and national moral fortitude based on simple Judaic/Christian principles. I heard someone say recently, “You can’t legislate morality.” I immediately quipped, “Well, just what do you think legislation is?” Translation: Whose morality do you want legislated?
From what I see, I do want the sanctity and protection of life legislated, to be a country where merit is the judging criteria for advancing in one’s work, for smaller government, for one’s faith practice to be protected. There’s so much more. Come celebrate Christmas with us, and take a break from all the madness!