The intense political division of the United States in the 2020s serves as more than just a backdrop, for as Strout pointedly connects the nation’s intensifying turmoil to the characters’ personal struggles, the novel implicitly argues that this toxic atmosphere has seeped into every level of American society, corroding personal relationships and accelerating social decay. As the story progresses, this ominous force manifests in the unspoken tensions and outright animosity that erode trust at Artie’s school and threaten to disrupt his community. At different points in time, Artie and Evie’s anxious but oblique references to the “incoming president” (Donald Trump in his second term) dramatize the existential dread that broadly characterizes the zeitgeist of 2020s America.

These narrative patterns are apparent in the actions of multiple characters. Artie’s thoughts articulate the common fear that the United States is staggering toward a grim authoritarian future, while Evie’s response captures the paradoxical mix of apprehension and hesitation that dominated in the wake of the 2024 presidential election. Upon Trump’s defeat of Kamala Harris, Artie wholeheartedly agrees with Rob’s assessment that “we’re fucked,” while Evie responds with a guarded, “Well, it's bad, but we'll just have to wait and see what [Trump] does” (110). As all of the characters marinate in the helplessness of this “wait and see” approach, not knowing what else to do, the country’s tense political backdrop exacerbates Artie’s growing psychological distress, foreshadowing his eventual breakdown.

In the meantime, he must contend with the insidious decay of civic life that America’s political polarization engenders, and Strout’s own stance on the matter can be intuited from her vivid depiction of the fight that erupts at a high school soccer game. What begins as a dispute over a referee’s call quickly spirals into antisemitic slurs and physical violence, with both students and parents getting involved. As Artie watches in silent disbelief, the conflict reveals the rage simmering just beneath the surface of everyday interactions. When the principal, Hoover Lakeland, tries to restore order, he is booed by some in the crowd, and this reflexive response signals a dangerous breakdown in respect for authority and communal norms. This event demonstrates that the toxicity of the national political climate has infected even the most mundane of local spaces, turning a standard community gathering into a theater of hatred and aggression.

This societal pressure also compromises the community’s institutional and personal integrity, creating a climate of fear and preemptive capitulation. For example, when Hoover Lakeland shamefacedly asks Artie to begin teaching the “Confederate side” of the Civil War, he openly acknowledges that this request is born of parental complaints, and he recognizes the corrosive effects of his decision to engage in this act of “anticipatory obedience.” As Hoover bitterly acknowledges, “This is how it all happens” (73), and his words deliver the author’s own condemnation of public institutions’ choice to compromise their core values in an attempt to appease extremist demands. Later in the narrative, the unspoken truths enshrined in the novel’s title take on an even more ominous tone with Hoover’s suicide. When Artie learns of the death threats that Hoover received after his decision to harbor undocumented immigrants, this revelation harshly punctuates the sinister social forces at work. Hoover’s death, therefore, stands as a grim testament to the fatal consequences of resisting the country’s encroaching authoritarianism, suggesting that American society has begun to devalue such displays of moral courage.

As Artie’s reluctant compliance with the alterations to his curriculum shows, the country’s pervasive political divide ultimately forces individuals into silence, adding to the ever-growing tally of “the things we never say.” Yet even within this silence, Strout injects a note of hope and potential reconciliation, for Artie manages to retain his solid friendship with Ken Moynihan, the man who saved his life, despite Ken’s unspoken support for the president whose actions have caused Artie and others such anguish. can barely countenance. Significantly, however, this bond can only be sustained by the two men’s mutual, unspoken agreement never to discuss their respective stances on national politics. While Artie and Ken’s relationship depends in part upon this careful dance of avoidance, the fact that Ken saved Artie’s life transcends their widely differing but unspoken views. By including this layered relationship, Strout refrains from condemning one camp outright and instead delivers a more thoughtful, nuanced answer to the political polarization that haunts America’s communities.

However, while Ken’s presence in the novel suggests a tentative path forward at the individual level, the novel’s epilogue presents a grimmer outlook on the country’s slide toward authoritarianism. Citing the real-world establishment of a poorly run prison called “Alligator Alcatraz” and emphasizing Rob’s move to Brussels to work for the European Union, Strout suggests that the global collapse of institutional trust is the logical conclusion of the social decay depicted throughout the book.