America, This is an Intervention (Part 1)

12 Steps for Someone We Still Believe In

America…we love you and we’re worried about you. That’s why we’re here.

Not to judge you. Not to berate you on live TV. Not to post a viral takedown thread or recording from our phone while sitting in our car (why is that a thing now for political pundits and “influencers,” by the way?). We’re not here to shame — we’re here because we care.

This is an intervention.

We’re not activists or influencers. We’re not experts, strategists, pundits, or doomsday bloggers. We’re the quiet ones — the ones who keep showing up. The ones who take the trash out, pay the electric bill, buy groceries, take little vacations, and try not to scream into a pillow every time we read the news.

We’ve been watching you — anxiously, awkwardly — for a while now. And honestly? You haven’t been yourself lately.

You’ve been yelling a lot. Picking fights in public. Refusing to talk to people who used to sit at your table. You’re paranoid. Exhausted. Weirdly obsessed with your image. And worst of all, you seem convinced that you’re totally fine.

Spoiler: you're not.

We’ve seen your incoherent rants on twitter.

We’ve seen your very public meltdowns and tantrums.

Your ongoing identity crises.

We’ve noticed the people you’ve been hanging out with haven’t been the best influence on you. Sure, they have lots of money and make promises about how they support you. But they often bring out the worst in you, not the best. They almost always have their own priorities and intentions in mind - not your best interest. I know it’s tempting to always want to hang out with the rich kids, but you’re leaving your real friends in the dark - and that’s why we’re worried about you.

I mean, dude, we just saw you urinating in your neighbors lawn (sorry, Canada) and claiming your other neighbor’s pool as your own (sorry, Mexico - they mean well).

Remember that party you went to the other week with some of your oldest, closest friends, and you berated them for treating you like garbage? I mean, listen - no one is perfect, and even the best of friends could take advantage of you at times - but there’s a better way to talk to them about it. Those friends stood by you in your darkest times, for Pete’s sake!

You’ve even set your own house on fire (more than once).

And how many of your friends’ and co-workers’ lives have you ruined for an old slip-up or not using the right language? How many friendships have you ruined because the other person didn’t agree 100% with everything you said? Or worse yet, how many people did you cover for even though they did something awful?

And make no mistake, I’m not just talking about the last few years - it’s been going on much longer than that.

It’s not safe for you or your loved ones anymore, and it’s certainly not manageable.

You’ve got a lot of good in you — more than you realize. But you’re spiraling.

You’ve become addicted to outrage.

You’ve resorted to your most primal, tribal instincts all too often.

Obsessed with winning at all costs - turning everything into a zero-sum game.

Terrified of being wrong.

And somewhere along the way, you forgot who you are.

We say this with love: you need help.

And we’re not saying that like we’re above you — we’ve been there too. We all have our flaws. The truth is, a lot of us are in recovery from something: perfectionism, fear, bitterness, substance abuse, compulsive doomscrolling… You name it. Hell, a lot of us have even been guilty for enabling you - and we have to take responsibility for that as well.

We know you’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. You have a lot of people relying on you - a lot of people who are struggling and need you to be successful. A lot of people who have been left behind - from inner-city LA to Appalachia Ohio and everywhere in between. And that’s not always easy for people to handle, so we understand why you have been spiraling.

Again, we aren’t judging.

That’s why we think it’s time for you to start going through a 12 Step Program.

No, it’s not a self-help fad you see on TikTok, a herbal supplement you see on commercials while watching Fox News or CNN, or a corporate leadership seminar. It’s a path. One that starts with honesty and ends with transformation — if you're willing to walk it.

You can’t just sweet talk, buy, vote, or negotiate your way out of this.

And this admission - the admission that you need help - isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength. We know you can do it, that’s why we brought you here today.

The Twelve Steps were born out of real people hitting bottom. Not metaphorical, dramatic-music-in-the-background bottom — we’re talking can’t-go-on-like-this bottom. They were tired of pretending, tired of performing, and finally ready to change.

Sound familiar?

So we’re inviting you — gently but clearly — to take that first step with us. Not to fix everything overnight. Not to rebrand your image. But to begin again. From the inside out.

Over the next few posts, we’ll walk through these steps together. One by one. With honesty, humility, and maybe a little humor — because if we can’t laugh a little while trying to save the country, what are we even doing?

This isn’t about left or right. It’s not about slogans or sides.

You may be reading this thinking “obviously he’s talking about person X.” But It’s not about one man or woman.

It’s about becoming the kind of nation that doesn’t just survive — but actually heals and thrives.

You don’t have to keep white-knuckling your way through this.

You can let go. You can be honest. You can start over.

And it begins here.

Coming Next - Steps 1-4: Telling the Truth