The end of the year 2023 is days away, and not long after 2024 begins, the American Nation and all the people of which she is comprised will begin anew the process of tearing itself into little pieces along ideological lines as the myriad tribes will turn against each other in hate, anger, bitterness, and countless retributive injustices. What was once considered the stuff of excitement and anticipation, with a sprinkle of hope for the future and all the possibilities that might come with it, our so-called “election season” now carries with it nothing more than an 11-month stretch of time we will be at each other’s throats looking for new ways to silence and otherwise oppress any attempt at debate, disagreement, or dissent. Such is the current state of our disunion.
Honestly, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am as sick and fucking tired of the petty and childish nature of the behavior of our so-called political, cultural, and societal “thought leaders” in this once-greatest Nation ever imagined as I can possibly fucking be. At my age, being but one among 400 million others, I will not be the guy who saves a nation hell-bent on destroying itself. I can, however, be a voice of reason – whether or not the screens and wails of collective National self-loathing drown out that voice – and, by God, I intend to use that voice until it is taken from me by force.
The welcome page on Substack for the Essential American Wisdom newsletter first went live on January 8, 2022. I had no idea what I was doing back then, fumbling my way through the early days, trying to understand how I could use the platform to promote my first book, “Unwashed Philosophy: A User’s Guide For Our Imperfect Union.” It was with high hopes of educating a larger audience on how America even came to be in the first place, a discussion about the mess we have made of it since the founding, and what we might want to consider doing about it going forward, that I even made the attempt.
Even though it has only been barely a year, those days seem forever ago. With two more separate newsletters and two more books published, though, I feel like I have the hang of this now I have a specific set of plans that will guide the future work of the Essential American Wisdom newsletter going forward.
Intentionally waiting until the end, there are three things readers need to take into consideration as we move ahead to the re-release of this newsletter. First, and most importantly, I refuse to be drawn into any debate on matters of political parties or any leaders thereof; America came together around a set of shared principles, chief among these being that we understand that there is a higher power than the government. Second, American citizens (not yet considered so by the King of England and his corrupt Parliament) are the people who actually set the stones of our national foundations and had been building up this nation for 150 years before independence from the King was declared, solidifying the idea that this country was built from the ground up and not from the top down. Third, and this notion used to be the glue that held everything together, the promise of Life, Liberty, and the free pursuit of happiness was the entire reason our ancestors were willing to fight and die so that they might be preserved for future generations.
Were there disagreements? Yes. Was there division? Yes. Was there conflict between Neighbors? Also yes. What never occurred to anyone, at least up until the beginning of the 1900s, was any suggestion that we throw out the window 300 years of blood, sweat, tears, personal physical sacrifice, or the right to be safe and secure in our person or possessions. Yet, after everything this country has been through, we find ourselves right back where we started… At odds with the Central ruling Authorities over our God-given rights… As it had been a few years prior to our first Revolution.
There may yet be a second one, but if we can spend some time understanding the minds of those that came before us in the mid-1700s, perhaps we can learn from them and avoid what is surely coming if we don’t. What lies ahead will be a series, each entry overlaying the decisions, reflections, and rationales of our ancestors, on top of the decisions, reflections, and rationales of those currently weaponizing their power over the people that gave them their power, to begin with.
