Tag / politics

by Nathan Coumbe

AI, politics, and your health

Several people have sent messages to me over the last year asking why I talk about politics or artificial intelligence if I’m “just trying to be a health coach…” The implication (or outright criticism) is, “You should focus on exercise and nutrition because that’s what health is, not AI or politics.”

As someone trained in the Deep Health model of coaching (thanks, Precision Nutrition!), I respectfully disagree.

Human health is multidimensional. It’s not weight loss, V02 max, bench press numbers, meal plans, or whatever “maxxing” fad happens to be circling the web right now (in fact, it’s almost never those things). It’s a holistic combination of numerous facets of your life that all influence each other.

Your health is a system, and like any system, a change in one part affects the whole.

The Deep Health model has six dimensions:

  1. Mental: How focused are you? How well can you learn? Are you so overwhelmed you can’t get anything done?
  2. Emotional: Are you in control of your emotions? Can you express them well?
  3. Existential: Do you have a sense of purpose or meaning in your life? Do you feel fulfilled most days?
  4. Environmental: Is your environment safe and secure? Is it clean and sanitary? Do you have what you need to survive and thrive?
  5. Relational: Do you have rich, rewarding relationships in your life you can rely on? Or are you lonely? Being abused?
  6. Physical: How well do you eat and move? How do you feel day-to-day? Are you chronically ill (as I am)?

Notice I saved physical for last—not because it’s less important, but because I want to emphasize how important the other aspects are. All these dimensions are interconnected, which means that they can all influence your physical health.

Which brings me back to why I talk about AI and politics.

If you worked for the federal government in the United States and were unceremoniously fired by DOGE in 2025, this affects your health. Lack of income, loss of meaning (a lot of which comes from our work), the uncertainty of how you’ll pay your bills or feed your kids—just like that, you’ve had your mental, emotional, existential, and environmental health negatively affected.

If you had your health benefits slashed by cuts to Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act, your physical, environmental, and emotional health have been negatively affected.

If you’re constantly being bombarded by the bullshit scare-marketing coming from the AI CEO tech bros telling you they’re going to kill off the human race, but they can’t do anything to stop it…

Or if your boss drank the AI Kool-Aid and is hounding you to ship more work, faster, with less care or craft, you’ll be incredibly stressed mentally, emotionally, and probably environmentally (because you’re constantly worrying about your job).

I could give you several dozen more examples, but you get my point.1 Each of these “non-health” issues affects your well-being, and they can all affect your physical health.

You might not be able to eat well, or get to a gym, or go for a walk, or do anything “healthy” after being mentally and emotionally (or God-forbid, physically) assaulted all day.

If you believe health is only about how much you lift in the gym or how much protein you get each day, then yeah, I’m out of line.

But that’s not what health is, and that’s not how I coach. You are a multi-dimensional, incredibly complex creature whose physical health is affected by so many things outside of nutrition and exercise. A good coach (which I like to believe I am) recognizes that and works with you to manage all aspects of your health, not just the physical.

So I’ll keep writing about AI and politics—and all sorts of other things too—as long as they keep affecting your health.

  1. And that doesn’t even include our Health Department cutting programs to keep us physically healthy, a decision that has led to viral outbreaks, explosive diarrhea, and death. There’s politics affecting your health again! ↩︎

by Nathan Coumbe

Love thy neighbor as thyself

Hillel the Elder was once asked to explain the Bible’s teachings as succinctly as possible.

He stood on one foot and made the following statement:

“Love thy neighbor as thyself—all the rest is commentary.”

This statement keeps going through my mind as I read the news each day. As I see what certain people are doing to others, on camera, in broad daylight.

I just want them to answer a question like: “How would you feel if you were the one being wrongfully arrested by New York police officers while on vacation?”

We are losing our humanity. We are losing our ability to empathize.

I have no positive words of encouragement today—only a reminder to love thy neighbor.

by Nathan Coumbe

The worst of times?

I’ve heard it thrown around quite a lot recently that it’s the worst time to be alive in America. Part of me is inclined to agree.

But is it?

You could have lived during the American Revolution, our first civil war, when neighbor fought neighbor and disease ran rampant. Or you could have been a soldier in the (real?) Civil War, dying from sepsis after having your wounded leg sawn off with no anesthesia.

You could have lived through Andrew Jackson’s era of corruption (which is eerily similar to today’s political landscape).

You could have been a black person at any point in our nation’s history: enslaved for the first half or denied dignity, humanity, and basic rights throughout much of the second.

None of that is to negate the horrors and wrongs of now. Yes, in many ways, today you do indeed have it worse now than your parents and grandparents did. 

Instead, I use them to point out that it’s always been this way. There have always been power-hungry demagogues. There have always been enablers and toadies looking to get a little for themselves.

Let that serve as a reminder to act. To stand up. To do something. To participate in the civic process rather than sit idly as a spectator. 

Be a citizen.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Make Your Voice Heard in Congress (and Get AI to Help)

Most people care about issues that affect their lives, but too few actually take the next step—contacting their elected representatives. Why? The biggest hurdles tend to be:

  1. Not knowing how to reach them
  2. Not believing it makes a difference
  3. Not knowing what to say

The good news? These are all solvable problems, and AI can help with every single one.

1. Finding Your Representatives

Many people don’t even know where to start. Luckily, it’s easier than ever to look up your representatives:

2. Does It Actually Matter?

Yes. Congressional offices track calls, emails, and letters. When an issue gets a high volume of outreach, it gets attention. Many policies have been shaped—or stopped—because enough people spoke up.

But the real power comes from multiplying your impact. Getting your friends and family involved can turn one letter into dozens. A single person might not change the world, but a network of voices can.

3. Not Sure What to Say? AI Can Help

One of the biggest obstacles people face is writing the message itself. That’s where AI comes in. If you care about an issue but don’t know how to word it, try this:

👉 “Write a letter to my senator about [issue] and why it matters.”

AI can structure your thoughts, keep things professional, and help you make a strong case. A well-written letter increases the chances of being taken seriously.

Start a Letter-Writing Campaign

Want to take it further? Organize a small group—friends, family, coworkers—and encourage them to write letters together. Offer to help them draft messages using AI. Even if only a few people participate, it makes a difference.

Take Action Today

Pick an issue you care about. Find your representatives. Write a letter (or get AI to help you). Then, ask two or three people you know to do the same.

Small actions lead to big changes. The key is getting started.

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by Nathan Coumbe

There is no such thing as bad weather…

Only inappropriate clothing.

If it’s raining outside, why would you get mad at the rain? What good does it do?

Put on a jacket; break out the rain boots; grab an umbrella. Don’t curse the rain.

Things are going to happen that are beyond your control. All you can control in those instances are your responses to them. 

You’re on vacation in Hawaii, and it’s raining outside…so curl up on the couch with a good book and a hot cup of tea. Or go outside in your bathing suit — you’re in Hawaii, for Pete’s sake.

A politician you don’t like is voted into office…so go vote next time. 

You burn your hand while taking dinner out of the oven, and dinner crashes to the floor. You could kick the oven (that’ll teach it to burn you!), curse, scream, and tell everyone that the evening is ruined. Or you could run your hand under some cold water, put aloe on the burn, and order pizza while laughing at your clumsiness. 

Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes things happen that you wish didn’t. 

You can’t change or manipulate the events. It’s a waste of energy. 

You can only change yourself.

Spend your energy wisely. 

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by Nathan Coumbe

Be careful what you share

We each have at our fingertips an unlimited amount of information that continues to grow at an unparalleled pace. This means that with each passing day, it gets harder and harder to check the validity of what we are seeing and reading.

This is especially true in today’s immensely divided political landscape, with more and more messages, rhetoric, memes, and articles being published with the sole purpose of further dividing the nation. Someone creates something or bends the truth to suit their worldview, and then it is published to the world. Then another person shares it, and another; then perhaps another person adds something or tweaks it even further, and soon you have a post that is highly biased and quite possibly untrue.

Be careful what it is that you post on your social media accounts; before you do, do just a bit of research to try and find the truth of what you are sharing.

If it becomes too hard to figure out whether or not what you are posting is true, that might be a hint that you shouldn’t post it…