It was the beginning of October. I had been invited to speak to a class on political journalism at Colorado College, my old alma mater. The class was taught by none other than Vince Bzdek, the editor-in-chief of this paper and its sister publications.

This was a relatively small seminar of perhaps a dozen undergraduate students. Happily, I found the discussion far more probing and insightful than is sometimes the case.

At one point, a young woman, I recall her name as Abby, asked me to map out how we arrived at the current state of political polarization, systemic dysfunction, and media distrust. That is not an exact quote, but you get the gist.

No one had ever posed the challenge to me in quite that way. I responded with a few thoughts, hopefully on target, even if falling far short of comprehensive. But the question stuck with me. Here, two months later, let me try to offer Abby something closer to the big picture.

Abby’s question asked for a map. However, I am a writer, not a cartographer. So, what follows are my 10 macro explanations for how this moment came to be.

1. We remain in an extended period of rapid change accompanied by significant dislocation. Some among of us have prospered while others have been left behind. Wealth, educational and geographic divides have grown ever more exaggerated. The complexion of whole communities has shifted. A reaction was inevitable to such social and economic upheavals.

2. Through all manners of disruptions, America at its core has been an optimistic place. It was long a given that each generation would have it better than those who came before. That optimism and core expectation have waned dramatically so. Various studies have shown that only 50% of Millennials and under 40% of Gen Z anticipate having a better life than their parents.

3. This tumult is not just an American phenomenon. Much of the world is living through a time of populism, alienation and the erosion of democratic institutions. America is not in this alone.

4. Bringing it back home, Congress has ceased to function as a coequal branch of government over many years and under the control of both parties. Congressional success is now measured by clicks and cable news appearances instead of the actual work of governing. The result has been an explosion of executive power and a breakdown of our system of checks and balances.

5. The structure of political incentives has grown perverse and out of whack. Whether the objective is social media attention, TV bookings, small-donor fundraising, or other measures of what now qualifies as political clout, the premium on both sides of the aisle is on outrage and pushing it ever more toward the extreme.

6. Both parties have sorted themselves and are far more homogeneous than was once the case. Moderate Republicans and blue-dog Democrats are mostly forgotten relics. This has driven the parties infinitely farther apart while reducing any potential for bipartisan cooperation and compromise.

7. The country has similarly sorted itself into red America and blue America. This is reflected in where folks live, where our kids attend school, what we do for work, whether and where we worship, and with whom we socialize. Cross-racial or cross-religious marriages are now completely unremarkable; cross-political partnerships not so much. Many, many among us live in insular bubbles with fewer and fewer dissenting voices.

8. Further, we have sorted ourselves by what media we consume and whom we follow or engage with online. To a dangerous extent, Americans curate their media as they would a playlist. We dial up those with whom we already agree and tune out any who might provoke us to reconsider. We have created dueling media echo chambers with precious little overlap.

9. Countless fellow citizens have turned to politics, especially the online variety, as a poor substitute for whatever is missing in their lives by way of belonging or connection or meaning. Some smart types have commented on an “epidemic of loneliness” in these times. Whether or not you accept that diagnosis, political affiliation can never fill bigger holes.

10. Through all of this and more, every dial seems turned up to maximum volume and outrage. Even passing issues take on outsized importance. Every election is regarded as existential. Hence, the recent, damaging, mid-decade redistricting battles. Compromise is disdained and grace is forfeited. None of it is a sign of civic health.

Abby, her classmates and their generational cohort will soon enough inherit this mess not of their making. Let’s hope they exhibit more wisdom and restraint than their elders in navigating their way through it and slowly, purposefully restoring the exceptionalism of American democracy.

And thank you, Abby, for asking.

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for ColoradoPolitics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann