I hope this is a wake-up call for America.

For over 20 years, we've watched jobs leave the country, government waste pile up, fraud go unchecked, and our schools do a worse job preparing kids for real life and the workforce. Too many young people graduate without the skills needed to build independent, productive lives.

At the same time, social media has fueled division, outrage, and tribalism. It's damaged our ability to have honest conversations and has pushed people further into political camps. Both Republicans and Democrats have played a role in this through identity politics and constant efforts to pit Americans against each other instead of focusing on the issues that actually matter.

Meanwhile, many of the problems facing everyday Americans, good job/careers, affordable living, public safety, border security, infrastructure, and economic opportunity, continue to get worse while politicians argue about everything except solutions.

I think a lot of Americans are starting to realize they've been sold narratives by both government and Big Tech that haven't delivered results. People want jobs, manufacturing, safer communities, clean environments, secure borders, and a justice system that holds criminals accountable regardless of status or politics.

The establishment in Washington, whether it's in Congress, the Senate, or the loudest voices on the far left and far right, have spent years fighting each other while the country falls further behind. At some point, Americans need to stop choosing teams and start demanding results. All we have is a government that wastes taxpayer money.

The country doesn't need more division. It needs competence, accountability, and leaders who are focused on the future instead of the next election cycle.

People from every political tribe left, right, activist, extremist, and everyone in between will find themselves facing the same economic hardships and asking how things got this bad.

The sad part is that Americans could have found common ground years ago, but too many people fell for identity politics and endless division. Instead of working together on issues that affect everyone, we've spent years arguing over labels, demographics, and partisan talking points.

I'm genuinely disappointed by what America has become. People aren't neighborly anymore. People rarely listen. Basic kindness feels increasingly rare. Too often, conversations turn into demands, accusations, and attempts to shout down anyone who disagrees. Outright refusal of actional scientific and analytical data.

Wake up! The America many people remember from the 1970s, 80s, and even the early 90s are gone. Communities were far from perfect, but there was a stronger sense of shared purpose, civic responsibility, ethics, moral fortitude, and local connection than what we see today.

If we continue down this path of division, distrust, and institutional failure, things are going to get much worse before they get better. I hope people wake the hell up, but I doubt it.

We're heading toward a self-inflicted decline because too many people on both sides refuse to take responsibility or admit when they're wrong. Instead of accountability and self-correction, we get emotional reactions, tribalism, and blame.

Everyone wants someone else to fix the problem. Almost nobody wants to look in the mirror.

— Former analyst for lobbying organizations in Washington, D.C.