For the past couple of years, I’ve been using micro.blog as my (in)consistent blogging platform. Whenever I’ve had flashes of inspiration—what Stephen King calls “the boys downstairs”—I’ve written them down here. For me, this blog has been an outlet to process ideas, current events, books, my faith, and more.

Now I’ve decided to open this space to a wider audience—putting it out there for anyone who might want to think alongside me. This is, at its core, a blog about understanding: understanding the subjects that capture my interest, and exploring how the world works and why it works the way it does.

In the past, I’ve tried to start blogs and never stuck with them. But with micro.blog, I’ve found a platform that gives me a relatively consistent outlet. It’s simple, affordable—unlike many other platforms that charge an arm and a leg—and easy to connect with other spaces online.

Like many, I find the state of the world troubling. I don’t claim to have the answers, but I do hope to better understand current events by tracing the undercurrents behind them—and maybe even generate some ideas for addressing the challenges we face. That said, this won’t be just a politics blog (though, as those who know me can probably guess, politics will be a central theme). I’ll also write about my faith and how it has evolved, as well as reviews or reflections on books I find especially thought-provoking. For instance, I’ve written about The Dead Zone by Stephen King here and The Scout Mindset by Julia Galef here. Occasionally, I’ll dive into history, technology, or even share thoughts on movies and shows I’ve watched.

There’s a line attributed to the twentieth-century political philosopher Hannah Arendt: “Writing is an integral part of the process of understanding.” I’ve found this to be true. Along with teaching, writing forces you to test whether you truly understand something. Sometimes, I even change my mind as I write and reason through a topic. With a little brainstorming help from ChatGPT, I came up with the subtitle for this blog: “Open Borders for Curious Minds.” I like it both for the irony and the reality that my interests are too wide-ranging to be confined to a single theme.

Since I already have a backlog of posts, I plan to re-post some older pieces and expand them, though you can always find originals in the site’s archives.

Thank you for reading. I hope you’ll join me in thinking through these ideas—and maybe find a bit of entertainment along the way.