Things are getting bad to the point that ordinary people are not able to tune it out anymore, and the pundit class’ answer of is looking less and less compelling. Regular people are looking for explanations and guidance. Talk to them. They want to know what has worked in the past, and what can work now. They’re open to new ways of understanding the world, and we have that. Be accessible if you can.
Yeah. One of the coworkers who talked to me has a son who is trans, which is what sparked that conversation. People are (correctly) both scared and angry.