In 2019, I began writing a book about America. At the time, I was a technology entrepreneur who was living in a conservative rural area, serving as a Democratic Party county chairman, taking care of farm animals, and traveling to big cities such as New York and San Francisco for meetings with venture capitalists. In my own life, I saw the tremendous contrasts and political and cultural divide within the so-called “United” States.
During the Trump years, I had become increasingly worried about the unraveling of American society, as economic inequality combined with identity politics to fuel a raging inferno of anger on both sides of the sharply polarized political spectrum. Americans seemed to have too little in common anymore, except their mutual cynicism and hatred of each other.
I’m a big believer in the power of stories to shape the way we perceive the world. Americans no longer had a shared story of our country — its history, present struggles, and deeper meaning and principles — and why, despite our differences, we should try to remain united and work together for the cause of national greatness.
So I decided to write such a story — a grand meta-narrative about America, that I hoped could help to reunite the diverse people of our great nation. I decided also to include relevant stories from my own life and family history to help illustrate some of the key concepts of America’s past and controversies of the present day. Because of my unusual life and background, I had a lot of interesting material to work with.
My original plan was to publish the book in early 2020 and go on a speaking tour across America in an RV during the presidential election campaign season. But my RV broke down and Covid-19 hit, so I had to change my plans. I postponed publication of Our Great Nation and decided to add more to the story after the election and the worst of the pandemic were over.
The past year turned out to be one of the wildest years in American history. My book — already filled with incredible stories about our country — now has even more jaw-dropping material that would have sounded like fiction just a few short years ago.
America is a uniquely crazy and amazing place. That’s the main theme of Our Great Nation. And as the subtitle of the book indicates — The America We’ve Lost and How to Rebuild It Together — it is also a nation in peril. The United States of America today is in deep decline and barely hanging together by a thread. In 10 or 20 years — perhaps even sooner — there’s a real possibility that the country might break apart or plunge into civil war.
My book offers a prescription for saving our country. In part, it’s by embracing a majestic narrative of America’s unique role in human history. But we must also do the hard work of listening to our fellow citizens who are different than ourselves, and unite upon some basic values and principles that are neither of the left nor of the right, but for our common good.
Can we do it? Read the book (coming in early 2023) and decide for yourself! Click here to read excerpts and reserve your copy today!