April 25, 2025
by Curtis Neal Maddox

I probably sound unhinged saying this, but I don’t even recognize this country anymore. Not because I’m waving a flag for one side or the other—I’ve been burned by both. What gets me is how divided we’ve become, and how deliberate it all feels. Like someone out there benefits from us tearing each other apart.

Every time I turn on the news or scroll through my feed, it’s the same damn thing—outrage, finger-pointing, and slogans that sound like sports chants. “Us vs. them.” Always. Like we forgot we’re all supposed to be on the same team.

And yeah, I’ll admit it—I’ve had the thought: maybe the only way to fix it is to start from scratch. Blow the whole thing up (figuratively, before anyone gets dramatic) and rebuild without these two ancient parties strangling everything. Because they don’t represent the people anymore. They represent donors. Corporations. Power. Image.

We’ve been force-fed this binary system like it’s the only way democracy works. Red or blue. Pick a side. Cheer when your team scores. Boo when the other one does. Meanwhile, nothing really changes except the headlines.

I’m tired. Tired of being manipulated. Tired of watching my friends argue over politicians who don’t even know their names. Tired of being told that if I criticize both parties, I must be part of the problem. Screw that.

This country has so much potential. So many brilliant people. But we’re stuck in a tug-of-war that no one’s winning, and I honestly don’t know how much longer the rope will hold.

Some days I wish we could just wipe the board clean and start fresh—no party lines, no cult personalities. Just people who actually care about fixing things. Not fighting for a team.

Maybe that’s naive. Maybe it’s dangerous. Or maybe it’s just the kind of thinking that a lot more people are quietly having but are too afraid to say out loud.

Well, I said it.