#(meaning

They aren’t working in pursuit of something. They are working avoidance of something. For many, especially those without the safety nets of robust support systems of family wealth, that’s the nature of our society.

In the minds of many Americans, we traded ‘the pursuit of happiness’ for ‘fend off desperation’ long ago. Settling for such grim motivations feels like an absolute failure of imagination for creatures who are natural crafters of meaning, for creatures who need whimsy and ritual to thrive.”