1677 || when the system is the problem episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 23, 2026 · 11 MIN

1677 || when the system is the problem

from Make Your Damn Bed

How do we fight the very system we’re stuck in? If every road we end up on bottlenecks to the same hole they want us stuck in, should we even bother?There’s a place for all of us in the systemic fight, and it’s a matter of filling needs that you can fill, as they arise. Some of us will need to stay in the bottle, but we can keep flooding the neck of the bottle from the inside, and because it’s already showing signs of cracking - we should never let up until it does. But some people hate the damned bottle, and will find they are best used outside of the bottle, throwing rocks at the facade to show how fallible it is. Some of us will have escaped the bottle already and be creating new, more connected and expansive roads for when the bottle shatters and we all need a new path, and some of us will be stuck, in the bottom of the bottle, waiting for the glass shards to fall and bury them, or for someone outside to pull them. Find a place for yourself. Building new roads, or breaking the bottle neck that has been causing so much harm. It’s impossible to see your own issues when you’re in them. If you’re stuck in the abusive system you’re not likely to see how abusive it is until you’ve escaped it.You have to back up to see the whole picture. Your nose is on the wall, back up a few steps and you’ll see how big and broken the wall is. When we see how other systems are working, it becomes clear all the ways ours isn’t. Read episode scripts on Julie's Medium Blog.SUPPORT JULIE (and the show!)DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund AND THE Sudan Relief FundGET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.comTUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM AND YOUTUBESUBSCRIBE FOR BONUS CONTENT ON PATREON.The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1677 || when the system is the problem

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