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Dear America,

Before reading, I recommend quickly learning what the Japanese word “kaizen” means and how it is applied in industry. The definition is ubiquitous, so it will be easy to find. Use those fancy AI tools!

Today, I am revisiting a concept I introduced in the preface to these letters, which was entitled “One Plus Many Realities.” Therein, I juxtaposed two worldviews: Christian (represented by CuRe) and Postmodern (which sufficiently represents all others). My argument was that the...

Dear America,

Today, we shall get to the heart of why I believe The CuRe All Letters are necessary. Pointedly, what is their point?

While I have blended theology, philosophy, literature, history, and political theory into these letters, that is not what they are about. They are about the story of We the People and our search to rediscover our true path.

Since I’m a storyteller at heart, let me make my point by spinning a yarn…

The world changed on June 24th, 2022. Whether you are pro-life or...

Dear America,

Against the backdrop of services for Charlie Kirk, I am reminded of another American historical figure: Nathan Hale.

When I was boy, Hale had already faded from the social studies curriculum. The only reason I knew anything about him was that I had gotten myself in trouble with my old man.

As I reflect, perhaps the only reason I knew anything at all back then—indirectly at least—is that I was stubborn, opinionated, and mouthy. Often, for people like me, learning is an indirect...

Dear America,

Today, I’m talking to you, the individual—not We the People. I have no real plan or agenda this time.

Do you ever think about your past? I do. In another part of this side business called Finch Fries Press, I’ve been assembling my Early Days Collection, which is really an excuse to polish up old writing for nostalgia’s sake. Maybe I’ll draw in a few readers. Who knows?

It was fun and heartwarming to be reminded of how deeply I cared about football and video games—and to see how...

Dear America,

Did you know that the word “constitution” has its origins in Latin? You probably did. The root verb’s translation is “to set up, establish, or fix."

Since you knew that, my guess is you’re generally aware of the deep Western cultural tradition that inspired the American System. We skimmed past bits and pieces of that tradition on the way here, and then we were distracted by Finch Fries, Evil Witches, and Blue Suits.

Today is Constitution Day, and I was reflecting on our...

Dear America,

In order that We the People never again fall prey to a figurative foul witch as described in my previous letter, I think it is wise that we revisit the scene of the crime and examine how she managed to get us into her clutches in the first place. Since we were all under her spell, we should help each other remember the sequence of events that led to our near demise…

For the sake of creative expression, let’s assume “you” in the story that follows is We the People collectively....

Our family offers its thoughts and prayers to Charlie Kirk and his family. I cannot express my emotions. God, keep us firm and safe as the darkness looms and evil seeks to unnerve us. May it instead galvanize our collective will and ready us for the days to come.

Dear America,

The CuRe All Letters began as an attempt to—through learning, discussion, and reason—plant the seeds of a return to our founding principles and a restored American culture. I want to help create a future that my...

Dear America,

At this stage of our journey, as we are about to turn our focus to the American System more directly, I am compelled to explain why I am writing these letters. Why me? After all, who cares about the opinions of a random, unestablished author? I do not have a PhD in anything, am not a renowned expert in anything, etc. In that respect, I recognize there are some folks who will never take anything I say seriously. So, why do this?

Cut the Potato: My Guiding Purpose

Simply, I feel...

Dear America,

Most of you will recognize the following famous words:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths...

Dear America,

What is our job as We the People? What is our role in society?

Answering these questions requires an understanding of our Founders’ worldview, which was built on top of Protestant principles and shaped by our geographical and political distance from the Old World. Given that all Protestant theology owes a great deal to Martin Luther, an examination of his views on the concept of vocation offers great insight into what the words “We the People” meant to our American ancestors.

...

Dear America,

We’re in a sorry state, culturally, aren’t we?

For me, the greatest evidence of this is not violent crime or hardball politics but the coarsening of our culture—standards lowered, etiquette lost, and language diminished. I was watching Victor Davis Hanson the other day, and he was expressing concern and distaste over how profane and pornographic Americans’ speech has become, where even elected officials swear crudely on camera. While I have been a lifelong proponent of the...

Dear America,

This series extends from the Finch Fries vision and mission, specifically the idea of American Cultural Restoration (CuRe). My goal is simply to seek the truth, engage in a dialog with you, and find points of commonality that we all share as Americans (i.e., “the ties that bind us”).

What is the ultimate cure all? I believe it is the truth. Not a truth or my truth—the truth. I say truth and not “common sense,” because common sense can be relativistic in nature.

I seek the truth....

Until 2017, I kept travel logs of my trips. Occasionally, I plan to pull from those for my blog posts. This one is from a trip to Busan, South Korea, I took in 2014 to visit a friend of mine (who I am renaming for privacy).

July 10, 2014

This day, a Thursday, I was set to check out of the hotel and move to Anne’s apartment, where I would spend the next four days. I woke up early again, this time to watch the Netherlands and Argentina play their semifinal match. It wasn’t very exciting, and I...

I remember distinctly a conversation I had nearly 20 years ago with a friend of mine—if she reads this, perhaps she will also remember. At the heart of our conversation was a question she posed: What is America? What is American culture?

In broad brush strokes, I would paint her politically left-wing and myself right-wing. While neither of us are zealots and both are reasonably intelligent people, we never could bridge the divide between us. For many years, I lamented this and wondered how...

Whether or not social unrest leads to another American civil war, we generations—shaped and scarred by the culture war of the past century—already inhabit the rubble of a once thriving civilization.

Thus, Finch Fries Press is founded on cultural restorationism, rather than political conservatism, progressivism, or some derivative. Evoking the great reformer Martin Luther, we seek to—through examination of the past and present and exploration of future possibilities—reestablish what it means...

Technology is a disruptive force. As a child of the 1990s, the internet grew up with me perhaps more than I did with it. For context, consider that personal computers reached ubiquity in American public schools only a few years before I entered kindergarten in 1992.

I have many memories of the early internet. The old AOL and Netscape discs, the iconic screeching of a dial-up modem, and the terrible design principles of early websites all stick in my memory. When I was eight or nine years old,...

In my 20s and early 30s, I would never have written and published this. But sports fans know: If you play it safe for long enough, you lose anyway…

Yesterday’s July Fourth celebrations, as they often do, stirred me to ruminate. My reflection is that we Americans share a great deal in common with one another, regardless of where or when we were born. Or we did up to a point in our history. Perhaps both things are true.

Like many Americans, my ancestors were not all born in this country. But...

I love competition, especially sports. All kinds of sports. I don’t think I’ve ever found a sport I didn’t enjoy at least a little bit. When I set out to write Light’s Shadow, I knew the Darktouched would need some kind of athletic contest at the heart of their culture. So, I created Abzuball.

Those readers who have played Final Fantasy X (FFX) will of course see some similarities to Blitzball. For those who have not played FFX, imagine a mashup of soccer, water polo, and ice hockey played...

Writing about science fiction in this politically charged era is extremely challenging. Why is that, though? Stories centered on technological possibility, alien cultures, exploration, discovery, and interplanetary conflict should be immune from controversy, right? Alas, it is not so.

But again, I ask myself, why?

I believe the reason is, more so than other genres, sci-fi functions not only as a vision of the future but also a mirror reflecting current power and belief structures (hereafter,...

Note: This is a reminder to the reader that “Bumbling, Stumbling” is the bucket of blog posts centered around authoring, self-publishing, and marketing.

*Small rant incoming*

There was a certain trend that really gained momentum in the 1990s and has accelerated in the decades since. I think it’s now more of a cultural norm in the United States, and that’s even more unfortunate in my view.

What is it? The celebration of “nerd culture.”

Were this a polite conversation (I hope it is), you might...