America, This is an Intervention (Part 3)
Steps 5-9: Confession, Repair, and the Road to Making Things Right
This is part 3 of the “American Intervention” series - you can find parts 1 and 2 below:
America, This is an Intervention (Part 1)
America, This is an Intervention - Steps 1-4: Telling the Truth (Part 2)
Alright, America — if you’re still with us on this journey toward healing and transformation, you’ve made it through the hardest door: honesty.
You’ve admitted something’s broken. You’ve cracked the window open to something greater. You’ve let go of control, at least a little. And you’ve started taking inventory — a searching and fearless look at how you got here.
Now comes the part where you actually say it out loud.
No, not into a microphone. Not on social media. Not to score points with your base.
Just… to tell the truth. Out loud. To another human being (or a few hundred million). And maybe to God, too.
It might feel terrifying. But this is the beginning of healing.
This is where the fog starts to lift.
Let’s keep going.
Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
America, this isn’t about issuing a press release. It’s not about carefully worded apologies that have been vetted by eight attorneys and a PR team. It’s not a rant on X, or a performative gesture like kneeling in front of cameras wearing traditional native garb from a land on which you’ve never stepped foot.
This is about saying it plainly.
Naming what you’ve done.
Without deflection.
Without “whataboutisms.”
Without blaming France (though it’s probably their fault somehow).
It’s about sitting down and saying, "Here’s the harm I’ve caused. Here’s how I fell short. Here’s the truth I didn’t want to face."
Not to be shamed. But to be seen. You can’t exorcise the demons unless you first name them.
Because once it’s out there, the shame starts to lose its power. What you name can’t haunt you in the dark anymore. And if it does find you in those dark places, you’re at least equipping yourself to combat it in an effective and transformational way.
Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
This is where you take a breath.
You’ve named your wrongs — but now comes the question: Are you actually ready to let them go?
Are you willing to be less reactive?
To stop leading with fear, outrage, dominance, and denial?
To give up the illusion of moral superiority or historical infallibility?
To give up the Messiah complex?
To give up the victim complex?
Yes, I know that’s paradoxical - but like we said to you before, you’ve been having some major identity crises lately.
This isn’t about scrubbing your history books or denying your identity. It’s about becoming who you say you really are.
You say you're the land of the free.
You say you're the home of the brave.
You say you’re the shining city on the hill.
Well — are you ready to live like it?
Are you ready to become, not just better informed, but more whole?
It takes looking in the mirror and asking yourself some hard questions like “am I really being fair to everyone?” or “is it totally the fault of others or do I hold some of the blame myself by the way I’ve carried on?” You can’t remove your shortcomings unless you’re totally honest about what they are.
But Step 6 isn’t the removal of flaws.
It’s the readiness to be changed.
You’ve tried it your way and your way got us to where you are today - and it’s not so great right these days - despite what your hat says.
Step 7: Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
This step is quiet. No fireworks here.
Just humility.
The kind that doesn’t show up in speeches, rallies, or headlines, but in whispered prayers and daily decisions.
It’s saying: "I want to grow. But I can’t do this alone. I need help."
Which, let’s be honest, is hard for you, America. You’ve built your entire mythology on rugged individualism. And you’ve done some truly amazing things for yourself and the rest of the world, there’s no denying that. But asking for help isn’t really your brand.
So if healing is what you really want — this is where it begins.
If you want a better future for yourself and your children, you have to swallow your stubborn pride and submit.
And let’s not confuse “asking God” with outsourcing responsibility. This isn’t divine outsourcing. This is surrender + accountability = growth.
Now it’s about surrendering to your “better angels,” as Abraham Lincoln once said - to your Higher Power.
We’re not talking about surrender or submitting in the French sense, we’re talking about having the courage and wisdom to admit that your way has gotten you into a huge mess and that only your Higher Power can restore you to sanity.
Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Now we’re digging deeper. And this has been messy for you the last few years. Or decades. Or centuries.
If you’re still with us going into Step 8, then you’ve admitted the wrongs. Now comes the task of facing the people you’ve hurt.
This list might be longer than you expected.
This is uncomfortable. It’s not a blame game. You’re going to fight tooth and nail here - the ego hates this part. And your ego is strong.
We aren’t going to make the list for you - it’s your list. But here are some things that perhaps you can quietly reflect on.
Maybe this list would include Indigenous nations, descendants of enslaved peoples, immigrants, refugees, workers left behind, families broken by unjust policies or cultural values that destroy rather than nurture, veterans neglected after service, children harmed by neglect… the list can go on, but you have to create it and you have to mean it.
And the list runs along the whole spectrum.
This isn’t about dredging up guilt. It’s about illuminating truth.
This step doesn’t even ask you to act yet — it just asks if you’re willing.
Willing to make it right. Willing to face what you've buried. Willing to let justice start breathing again. And that doesn’t mean blaming everyone else. The urge to both dominate and play victim are strong in you - we can all see that. You’ve become fiercely tribal. But this step means taking responsibility - it means asking God to grant you serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Now comes the hardest thing: not just talking — doing.
Amends is not a speech. It’s not an empty “land acknowledgement” before an event. It’s not a plaque. It’s not an abstract apology floating in the air like helium.
Amends means repair.
It means investing in what was ignored. Listening without defensiveness. Changing systems and cultures, not just sentiments. Rebuilding trust with those who’ve stopped believing your promises.
And yes — it also means discernment. Sometimes you don’t make direct amends because it would retraumatize someone. Sometimes the work is done quietly, prayerfully, humbly — without fanfare.
It’s not performative. It’s not about virtue signaling.
But always, it’s done with sincerity.
It’s also not about coercion. You can’t force others to change - you can only control what you can control. You can only control your actions and reactions.
This is how you become trustworthy again.
Steps 5–9 are the work of reconciliation. Not just with others, but with yourself.
You don’t get to skip to the mountaintop of redemption without going through the valley of accountability. And you don’t get to claim healing without first asking if you’ve caused harm.
But if you do this work — if you show up, day by day, truth by truth — something begins to shift.
Not in Washington.
Not on the news.
But in the soul of the country itself.
I am continually amazed at your insight, your openness and your ability to focus on improvement and renewal. Thank you for sharing.