Welcome to the Ground of Liberty

I, like many others, have been horrified by the seemingly sudden turn for the worse that American has taken in recent months, not simply, or even fundamentally, in the state of its economy, but in the state of its culture, its ideas, and the intellectuals charged with defending those things. Particularly dispiriting has been the almost total lack of any principled defense of capitalism, individual rights, and freedom. There are notable exceptions, particularly within the blogosphere, and at some point I will get around to creating a blogroll and linking to the blogs that I regularly read. But the response by politicians, the mainstream media and leading intellectuals to the current crisis has been positively abysmal. Rather than ranting at the television, my kids, my wife, and my dog, I figured a blog would be an appropriate outlet and perhaps an opportunity to add some value to the discussion. I've always liked the Jefferson quote from which the title of this blog is derived for what it conveys about the spirit of those who fight for liberty--that they eternally press forward--and for what it says about the process of fighting for liberty--that it can be slow, often frustratingly so, but that progress is possible if we are willing to fight for it. The men who founded this nation achieved what they did by pressing forward, inch by excrutiating inch. The ideals on which America was founded have fallen out of favor through a similar process. If they are to be regained, and America saved, then continuing to press forward, inch by inch, is what will save it. This blog is my contribution to that effort.

Who am I? A father, a husband, a lawyer, an objectivist, a backyard tinkerer . . . an American.