I’m drawn by the recent economic turmoil in our country to write about what I see as similarities between what is happening in the markets, and what happens when a person decides to get clean and sober. This angle isn’t something you’ll hear from the so-called financial experts and talking heads and yahoos opining on most major media outlets. The fear and outrage and political finger-pointing from the chicken-littles is about what you’d expect. Fewer are the voices of reason that understand this not only as part of a natural cyclical correction to an over-bought market with weak underlying fundamentals, but also a part of the bigger process of a President and his Administration trying to heal some chronic and potentially fatal wounds in our systems of governance and trade.
It hurts getting sober after a long spell of depending on a substance. It hurts trying to lose weight after a long period of overeating. It hurts starting an exercise program after being sedentary for a long period of time.
Let’s face it, we are not good with discomfort and change—even in the short term—even if the prognosis of this change is really positive.
The parallels between addiction and politics are many. Anger, resentment, stuffed emotions, blaming others, lack of accountability, hopelessness, despair.
I’m old enough—and privileged as a citizen—to have voted during the administrations and policy outcomes of—Carter, Reagan, Bush(es), Clinton, Obama, Biden, and Trump. During each period there was chaos created for different groups of constituents, and most certainly for other countries whether friend or foe. There were economic strategies that have been viewed in a historical context as either positive or negative, depending mostly on your individual political belief system. There are remnants of each administration’s efforts, victories, and failures that resonate in politics today. The financial health and well-being of the citizens of the United States has reflected much of the policies set forth by these Presidents, their selected Cabinet members, and their relationship with the Congress at that particular time.
At this time there are myriad indications that our country is mired in excessive and illiberal behaviors. While we’ve always had disagreement—it is after all the basis for our nearly 250-year-old Republic—what’s happening today is different. Politicians have always been liars. The statement is redundant redundant. Today’s bald-faced hypocrisy is put to shame by the sheer audacity of their excessive and addictive spending. A ruling class that is hell-bent on getting and keeping their next fix.
Hmm. Sounds like an addict to me.
Let’s diagnose the patient shall we? Physical tests reveal high blood pressure, liver enzymes out of whack, chronic inflammation, rheumy and fearful eyes, clammy sweats, jitters, unstable on feet, shortness of breath. A deeper look at patterns uncovers lying, bad decision-making, financial insolvency, and a history of trouble with law enforcement.
I recommend in-patient treatment, followed by a long spell of sober living, and daily monitoring.
Is it sober minded to give all of your money to another group or cause at the expense of your own family? Would you let your ideology or misplaced empathy create poverty in your own home?
Is it sober minded to live in a constant state of anxiety and anger caused by uncontrollable outside events at the expense of the wellness and happiness of yourself and your loved ones?
Is it sober minded for our government to spend billions and even trillions propping up or manipulating foreign governments at the expense of the safety and care of its own citizens?
Is it sober minded for our government—administration after administration—to pile on debt and interest that exceeds what we spend on our own national defense?
Is it sober to fling open the gates at our borders, pay for the care and feeding and health care of illegal immigrants while many of our citizens struggle to do the same for their own families? Would you do that in your own home?
And who can forget the betrayal of the last five years? Was it sober for our leaders to lie to and lock up our citizenry to cover up their part in creating and releasing a sickness upon the land? Is it sober of them to pretend now that the entire episode never happened?
It has been said by many philosophers—and also by those experienced in addiction recovery—that change only occurs when the pain of the current situation becomes so unbearable as to exceed the fear and uncertainty caused by a change.
It can be said that the recent Presidential elections—in fact as far back as 40+ years as mentioned earlier—that the swinging pendulum of our elections were reactions against the current officeholder, and a desire for dramatic change. Let’s merely review the last three. Trump’s populist win in 2016 was a clear rebound from the Hope and Change Obama reign. The Biden election was a clear indication—or manipulation—to rid us of Trump. Trump’s historic return to office was a clear mandate against the ill-effects of the Biden era.
We vote to request change. We hope for change from the current situation because we can’t imagine more of the same—or to perpetuate exactly the same. And they don’t—change. Regardless of what you may think and how you may feel about what’s going on currently, it can only be judged effectively in retrospect. And that requires time and the completion of a complete cycle.
I’m no economist. But I can clearly see indications of long-term illness when it comes to how our elected officials make decisions. The influence of dark donor money, corporate lobby, nom-existent restrictions on self-enrichment, and a lack of term limits have all conspired to buoy those that grab the golden handle of national political office. In simpler terms, they care about themselves and don’t give a fuck about us.
What more evidence does one need to see the sickness and disease? Were open borders not enough? Intelligence agencies pressuring social media companies to censor free speech? Handing over billions of armaments to a hostile terrorist enemy? How about the disaster of USAID and other NGOs operating as a funding pipeline and tool for our nation-building and corrosive intelligence activities across the world? Trade imbalances. Our national deficit at a record-setting and seemingly irreversible high. Household debt at an all-time high. Continued separation between the haves and have-nots. Suicide and rates of addiction and mental health diagnoses going up. An obesity crisis. Loneliness.
And yet our leaders continue to recklessly spend our money taking care of themselves, their buddies, and their pet causes. How many indications do you need of an addictive relationship with money and power?
Nihilism. Hubris. Short-term impulsive decision-making with no thought of consequence. Full-blown addictive behavior.
What does it take to get sober? It takes radical change.
I have a lifetime of experience battling forces greater than myself. For many years—decades really—I thought I was in control. Things are fine! I’m fine! The evidence indicated otherwise, but I—as the elected official of my own life—was in denial about the consequences of many of my actions. It took great effort and sacrifice and pain by me and others that loved me to bring me to a point where I could begin to examine the outcomes of my behavior in an honest way.
Please don’t mistake this for a blanket endorsement of the politics of Donald Trump. Sycophants and deranged haters alike—calm the fuck down. History will judge him as it does all leaders. This may or may not be the end of the world as we know it. If it is, maybe that’s not the worst thing.
What I do respect—and stand behind 100%—is that he is trying to make radical change. Take a breath—a deep one—before you delete me forever. Think of your reaction to what he’s doing in terms of addiction.
Think of him as an interventionist.
Can he be the one to draw our attention to the economic excesses of our country? Will we let him? If he can begin the detox, it will be up to all of us—certainly those in power and influence—to truly maintain any type of economic recovery. Or will we quickly relapse into the same old nonsense that got us where we are today? Will America stumble off like a drunken old man—mumbling to itself while nipping at its quart of Mad Dog 20/20 until someone runs us over in an intersection and puts us out of our misery? Remember that empires die in a weak whimper.
I didn’t necessarily like my own interventionist. Who is this fucking guy sitting there with my entire family telling me that I could live another way and that I should trust him? Trust him—Fuck that—I didn’t even know him. But as I look back from 15 years hence, I’m appreciative of the man’s message and his willingness to start me down my sober path. The outcome far outweighs the short term chaos and heartache.
Many times even close family members don’t like the outcome when a person gets sober. Their role as the codependent or the enabler is eliminated. Their power is removed. They don’t know how to act.
I also clearly acknowledge that half my friends—more like party buddies—didn’t want me to get sober and were unhappy when I did. Hell, I was the guy always buying. The gravy train was ending. My real friends/allies obviously wanted what was best for me. None of any of them knew the interventionist or the caring professionals or their methods. They saw the outcomes later. In that way politics aligns. Some will help and some will resist but all will see and judge the outcomes.
As I’ve written about in previous essays, the quitting is merely the cover charge. Once the problem is identified, then help can be applied from all caring corners to the patient—in this case—our country. Long-term recovery consists of self-examination, sacrifice, identifying patterns, making healthier choices, setting boundaries, and the hard work of staying the course.
One is not truly sober until the thinking changes. One quits the behavior only to clear the mind and make space to become willing to be accountable to the change required.
What has been happening in our country is not sustainable. We cannot survive it. The decay must be arrested. The healing must begin. This essay is not a commentary on social change or woke-ism or cultural decay—although those can be viewed as symptoms of a country focusing on the wrong things—a country that is allowing its lizard brain to make decisions in place of its more rational cerebral cortex.
Can America get sober? Only time and history will tell the tale. Will this time of reckoning be just one of the many short trips to rehab that is experienced by so many addicts, or the one that catches—the one that keeps—the one that changes our thinking.
I’m not hopeful. The hatred and vitriol in politics today is representative of late-stage alcoholism. The only things that matters to the juiced mind is more juice. Fuck all else.
As we say in recovery, get help or get dead.
Fav line of this post is : quitting is the cover charge.
While I cannot find myself thinking that crashing our country is a good thing, I can say that when things fall apart, sober minds must prevail to rebuild in a new conscious way.
Hopefully, the people doing the crashing will soon be replaced by calmer more thoughtful minds.
It’s the greed, the conceit, and the disregard for humanity that are bitter actions for me to swallow these days.
I’ve been dialing up the volume on my kindness in my small world, hoping that others do the same.
Thanks for something new to consider about what might come out of this time of rending apart of country.
In my opinion -BRAVO!
Whether a Trump support or not, I think your assessment of the situation is spot on. I wholeheartedly agree with everything you had to say.
People don’t like change and they don’t like to be told that their behavior is wrong, or destructive to themselves or others, and I think your analogy is 100% correct.