It is my opinion that the least talked-about major social problem we have in our country is loneliness. I believe it was Henry David Thoreau who said that most people “lead lives of quiet desperation.” You can be surrounded by a lot of people who know you, including family members, yet still feel very lonely and like you are all alone in this world. You can feel as if no one really loves you or cares for you. Caring for someone differs from simply caring “about” someone.
I can still recall being a 10-year-old boy and hearing a radio talk-show host frequently say that “If I rang a bell, and people could magically totally change their lives, millions would be killed in the rush.”
I do not claim that my letter speaks for most people. But I do claim that it does speak for a sizable minority.
Stewart B. Epstein, Rochester, N.Y.
