The Cult of Toxic Independence

In America, “independence” is the true national religion.
It’s a myth. A trap. And like most things in the “Land of the Free,” it’s weaponized, dressed up in cowboy grit and bootstrap fables, but engineered to isolate people, discredit solidarity, and keep power exactly where they want it to remain with the elite.
For decades, we’ve been fed an ideology that tells people to handle everything alone, then punishes them when they inevitably can’t. When the consequences hit, pandemics, suicides, mass shootings, mental health breakdowns, and addiction crises, the system shrugs.
Because this isn’t dysfunction. It’s design.