A decrease in personal communications might be driving some of this warped understanding that my neighbors or ourselves are headed toward hell in some handbasket.

Our suburban lifestyle seems to exacerbate a lack of real face to face communication, more so than in legacy urban environments. People just don't have a clue what their neighbors think, do, desire, etc. The many sources of acquiring info, i.e. the web, can keep people from communicating face to face, because they think, why? These easily available contemporary secondary communication sources become a faux substitute for other kinds of legacy communications.

Also, the pandemic of late may have accelerated or further exposed glaring issues that fester below the surface, but by enlarge are not discussed openly at traditional venues, now with quarantine, etc. Issues like education plus the other crap ton of burning issues that are really not discussed with actual people. (sidebar: do most people have any clue as to the makeup of their neighbors around them? hmmm.)

In suburbia I can reach out on the www and read all about it, but do I share my thoughts with neighbors in general? No. I think many are in this basket.