I have had months of problems with publishing on this blog and very little time to work to correct it (happy problem: writing deadlines! Yay!)

So here’s a test post and a reminder: I am a husband and father first, an author and teacher second, a podcaster whose audience is mostly still waiting to discover my partner and I, and a deep believer in the Idea of America. I believe in trying hard and being able to achieve. I believe in working people with the every day blue collar ethics of doing the job, proving your worth, and loving your family as best you can. I believe in mistakes as opportunities for growth rather than cancellation. I believe we have more in common than we have differences. I believe all of this contributes to the Idea of America.

That idea is in trouble right now.

It is threatened by con artists (they know who they are), politicians (I don’t trust any of them), 24-hour News cycles (no matter what you watch they program you), and social media (good ideas twisted too often into hellscapes of accusations and trolling -and yeah, I know I am on social media right now). On each of these levels when personal or professional gain is put before public service, we all lose.

But that’s just my opinion. Should you disagree, thanks for stopping by, no offense intended, wish we could have engaged in a healthy, constructive conversation. If you don’t mind this perspective, and if you accept that I usually won’t even post about politics, preferring pop culture and story, then I hope you will comment, and come on by again.

There’s enough hate around without us adding to it here.

Peace.