“I think it’s the same thing, you know, most addicts like myself feel like, I feel like I was born an addict…these impulses are biologically hardwired into us, and whether you feel that way or you feel you became an addict or an alcoholic later on in life, the only way to overcome that biological impulse is with a spiritual realignment, a spiritual fire…and that comes from a connectedness to community. Alcoholism and addiction are diseases of isolation. People end up in jails and institutions and dead or in bathrooms by themselves or insulated by secrets, they withdraw from the community and from connectedness. The process of getting sober is the process of reconnecting to community.” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaking to Laura Ingraham about spirituality and hope for the struggling, on February 13, 2025 following his confirmation as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services