Conservative Law Firm Taking on Loneliness Epidemic

Tuesday, May 14th, 2024 -- 11:00 AM

(Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) Wisconsin is doing better than most states for 'social capital'

According to Corrinne Hess with Wisconsin Public Radio, at the same time, experts, including the Surgeon General, warn of an epidemic of loneliness in the United States. Studies show Americans are worried about citizens’ deep distrust of each other.

These trends are not new, but an increasing lack of social connectedness to family and friends continue to perpetuate the issues. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty is exploring this topic in three research papers being released throughout the summer.

The organization said the first report, released this month, “lays the foundation for the two following papers that discuss the greater role that technology and the internet has played in declining social capital, and solutions that can be implemented by governments, organizations and individuals.”

It’s a departure from the conservative law firm’s normal focus, which includes filing lawsuits focused on culture war topics, diversity programs, voting rights, school accommodations for transgender students, typically used as a wedge in the cultural divide.

Will Flanders, research director for the organization, said all political parties can agree there has been something lost in the culture that lets people connect with others who have different perspectives.

“We try as an organization to not raise the temperature further, but of course, we fail in that in some circumstances,” Flanders said. “We don’t absolve ourselves, I guess, of playing a role in the way things are, but we’re at least thinking about ways that we can be a better community leader.”

Eric Liu is the CEO of Citizen University, a Seattle-based nonprofit that aims to build community and civic awareness nationwide. He said it’s not surprising that a conservative law firm like WILL is taking on the topic of loneliness and social capital.

“It can sound like a left wing idea, the idea that people should join and associate and organize together, but it’s actually a conservative idea, in a sense of people associating and choosing to know each other and deal with each other and solve problems together, without relying on the government,” Liu said.

“I suppose that is the silver lining, people on both the right and the left are realizing that this crisis of loneliness, of social isolation, of dehumanizing each other,” Liu continued.

“When you don’t see people and you don’t know people and you don’t join people, it’s really easy to flatten them into two dimensional characters that you then mock or hate or are contemptuous of.”

Loneliness and social isolation have been linked with increases in negative and violent behaviors, and studies have shown that it is the leading factor in those who commit mass shootings. Loneliness also leads to higher risks of dementia, heart disease and stroke.

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