Earlier this week, I spent a long, long day—from 5:30 a.m. until 8:20 p.m.—as a poll worker. As always, I came home exhausted, feeling virtuous, civic-minded, and happy. I always have a great time.

Talking to my family and my friends, looking at national polls, and feeling the quiet despair within myself, it seems we, as a country, are not in a good place. Adolescent anxiety is at record highs.