We are watching the decline of America in real time.

For years, too many of us have lived on autopilot—working multiple jobs just to survive, scraping by with little time or energy left to pay attention to leaders who were supposed to represent us. Survival became the priority. Civics became a luxury.

That ends now.

I don’t want leaders who have never cooked a meal for themselves, never stepped foot in a grocery store, never clipped a coupon or reached for the generic brand because it was all they could afford. I don’t want officials who have never lived on peanut butter and jelly or ramen as adults, never skipped a bill to pay another, never gone on a hospital payment plan, never had to choose between fixing a car or junking it altogether.

I am exhausted by gold-plated politicians with inherited wealth telling working people they “understand the struggle.” Most Americans are living one paycheck away from disaster—while those in power accept payouts, favors, and loyalty checks at the expense of the people they swore to serve.

We were sold a lie: go to college, get a good job, and you’ll earn a house, a car, a family, a dog, and a future. Instead, many of us went to college only to accept the best-paying job we could find—buried under debt, earning wages that never kept pace with the cost of living.

I’m tired.

I’m tired of labor that costs us our lives without ever giving us a good one in return.

I’m tired of being taken advantage of.

I’m tired of a system that treats working people as expendable.

And I’m angry that those in power think we’re foolish enough to keep accepting it.

If this resonates with you, this is your moment.

Your moment to speak up.

To speak out.

To run for something.

It’s time to make America governed by the people again.