“Humans create institutions to pass on wisdom, to collectively conquer challenges, to centralize critical knowledge… However, with the devaluing and disappearance of institutions, individuals were left to absorb the culture’s anxiety.”
— Mark Sayers, A Non-Anxious Presence
In A Non-Anxious Presence, Mark Sayers builds on the insights of Edwin Friedman to highlight a crucial truth: institutions exist to absorb collective anxiety. Whether it’s a public health system, a school, or a functioning democracy, institutions serve as buffers—stabilizing forces that help people navigate fear and uncertainty.
So, what happens when institutions are deliberately undermined?
The 50-Year Project to Delegitimize Government
We are now living through the culmination of a 50-year effort to erode trust in the federal government. This didn’t happen overnight—and it didn’t happen by accident.
It began in earnest when Ronald Reagan declared, “Government is the problem.” It continued when Bill Clinton affirmed that “the era of big government is over.” Across party lines, leaders began treating government not as a solution to be improved, but as a threat to be contained or eliminated. The GOP’s project of hollowing out the services of the federal government (“drowning it in the bathtub”) indeed turned out to be a bi-partisan affair.
The result? A public deeply skeptical of institutions—and institutions less and less equipped to serve the people.
Project 2025: Engineering Anxiety
Enter Project 2025, a detailed plan backed by right-wing think tanks to radically overhaul (read: dismantle) the federal government. This isn’t just about bureaucratic efficiency—it’s about removing the very systems that help people survive.
- Firing thousands of civil servants
- Eliminating safety net programs
- Restructuring (or abolishing) agencies that safeguard health, education, and the environment
These changes don’t just “shrink government.” They remove the institutional buffers that help people manage life’s crises—turning systemic problems into personal burdens. As Sayers puts it, “Anxiety then becomes a systemic phenomenon.” And when institutions no longer absorb anxiety, individuals must carry it alone.
Fear as a Political Weapon
There’s a deeper logic at work here: create instability, then offer authoritarianism as the solution. When people are anxious—about healthcare, housing, or food—they are more likely to give up freedom for the illusion of safety.
The more fragile life becomes, the more attractive simple, strongman promises appear.
The Role of Racism and Distraction
But this agenda doesn’t unfold in a vacuum. It needs a smoke screen. And that’s where the attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the crackdown on immigration come in.
These policies:
- Stoke cultural divisions
- Channel frustration toward marginalized communities
- Distract from the dismantling of government protections
This is classic misdirection. While people argue over identity politics, corporate interests and political elites are busy disassembling the machinery of democratic governance.
The Danger of Fragmented Systems
Sayers and Friedman remind us: anxiety lives in systems. And when those systems break down—when trust, support, and cooperation give way to isolation and competition—anxiety becomes chronic and inescapable.
In that environment, authoritarian leaders thrive. Not because they solve problems, but because they promise to “control the chaos”—chaos they often helped create.
Rebuilding the Safety & Security of Healthy Insitutions
If we believe institutions exist to absorb collective anxiety, what do we do?
We reclaim the role of healthy institutions:
- Not as perfect entities
- But as collective tools for resilience, equity, and shared problem-solving
We reject the false choice between freedom and safety. And we recognize that anxiety is being weaponized—cultivated not just as a byproduct of modern life, but as a tool of control.
In an anxious age, the most radical act is not just personal calm, but public solidarity.
It is time to put an end to the Donny Horror Picture Show.
