The Root Cause of America's Broken Systems

What is ACE?

Last week, I launched this series by introducing the greatest public health threat facing our nation today: Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACE. I left you with a massive claim—that by addressing this single issue, we can completely transform the social, economic, and political landscape of America.

That is a bold statement. Today, we prove it by diving straight into the science. The evidence shows that ACEs are the root cause of the very problems we keep trying—and failing—to fix with money, laws, and regulations.

What is the ACE Study?

The ACE study was a landmark project conducted in the mid-1990s by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Kaiser Permanente. Researchers surveyed more than 17,000 adults, looking at ten specific types of childhood trauma grouped into three categories:

• Abuse: Physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.

• Neglect: Physical or emotional neglect.

• Household Dysfunction: Substance abuse, mental illness, domestic violence, parental separation/divorce, or an incarcerated family member.

For every type of trauma experienced, participants received a point, giving them a total ACE score from 0 to 10.

The Staggering Demographics

This was not a survey of America’s most broken neighborhoods. Over 70% of people surveyed were Caucasian, college-educated, and gainfully employed. Yet, even in this demographic, the results were staggering:

• Two out of three adults had experienced at least one ACE.

• One in six had experienced four or more.

National data shows nearly two-thirds of all American adults have at least one ACE.

This study revealed a powerful dose-response relationship: the higher the ACE score, the higher the risk for chronic disease, mental illness, addiction, social failure, and early death.

The Cost to Adult Health

The personal health numbers associated with high ACE scores are devastating.

Compared to people with no childhood trauma, an individual with an ACE score of 4 or more is 12 times more likely to struggle with alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and suicide attempts.

Former California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris noted that a person with 4 or more ACEs faces:

• 2.5 times the risk of chronic lung disease.

• 4.5 times the risk of depression.

• 12 times the risk of suicide.

For those with 7 or more ACEs, the risk of lung cancer triples, and the risk of ischemic heart disease jumps 3.5 times. Ultimately, victims of high-dose childhood trauma live, on average, 20 years less than the general population.

Why Trauma Grips Adult Health

Dr. Burke Harris uses a powerful analogy to explain why childhood trauma alters adult physiology:

"Imagine you’re in a forest, and you see a bear. Immediately your hypothalamus sends a signal to your pituitary gland, which sends a signal to your adrenal glands and says ‘release stress hormones’—adrenaline, cortisol... That is great if you’re in a forest, and there’s a bear. But what if the bear comes home every night?”

Prolonged childhood stress literally rewires the developing brain. When a child grows up in fear, their biological stress system gets stuck on overdrive. This unresolved trauma follows them into adulthood, fundamentally changing how they handle stress, relationships, work, and school.

It even alters their soul. Clinical research published in Psychiatry Online shows that severe childhood trauma can deeply damage a child’s concept of faith, leaving them believing they are fundamentally unworthy or that God is harsh and abusive.

The $14.1 Trillion Economic Impact

What starts as a personal health crisis quickly triggers a massive societal breakdown:

• Education & Work: People with an ACE score of 4 or more are twice as likely to drop out of high school and over twice as likely to face unemployment.

• The Economy: An economic evaluation published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)estimated that ACEs drain an astonishing $14.1 trillion from the U.S. economy every single year.

• Generational Trauma: A UCLA study found that parents with high ACE scores are significantly more likely to pass behavioral disruptions and fractured, unstable relationships down to their own children.

The Childhood Trauma-to-Prison Pipeline

Our prisons are filled with individuals who were deeply wounded as children. A report on the childhood trauma-to-prison pipeline found that individuals prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system for crimes committed as children had an average ACE score of 6.3.

According to state prison surveys:

• 46% of incarcerated men reported 4 or more ACEs (vs. 9% in the general population).

• 57% of incarcerated women reported 4 or more ACEs (vs. 15% in the general population).

For young adults, having 4 or more ACEs triples the probability of facing a felony charge.

Furthermore, a study of male mass shooters in the Violence Project database found that higher childhood adversity was directly associated with younger shooters, more meticulous planning, and higher victim counts.

The Ultimate Keystone Habit

Societal breakdown grows in soil already poisoned by early childhood wounds, family collapse, isolation, and untreated pain. But this data also highlights a massive opportunity.

In his book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg introduces the concept of a "keystone habit"—a specific change or routine that creates a powerful domino effect, triggering positive shifts in completely different areas.

He shares the story of Paul O’Neill, who became the CEO of Alcoa Aluminum in 1987. Instead of focusing on profit margins or revenue growth, O’Neill focused exclusively on worker safety, aiming for zero injuries. Investors panicked, thinking he would ruin the company.

Instead, by the time O’Neill retired:

• Alcoa's net income was five times larger.

• Its market capitalization rose by $27 billion.

• It became one of the safest workplaces in the world.

  
  

Focusing on safety changed how the entire company communicated, operated, and trusted one another. Safety was the keystone habit that fixed everything else.

In the exact same way, America must obsess over the keystone habit of ACE reduction.

In my book, 1776 plus Genesis 1:28, I call for a National ACE Campaign. We need a movement similar in size, scope, and urgency to the historic nationwide efforts that successfully drove down smoking and littering. If America can shift those deeply entrenched cultural habits, we can absolutely break the cycle of childhood trauma.

Let’s tackle ACEs together. It will change the very direction of our country.

Thank you, farewell, and God bless.