The lonely beach where the Wright Brothers from Ohio created the first airplane has been, for me, one of the chief sources of inspiration for Volume One and all of our work together so far. And having worked in politics, and seen the problems firsthand—and participated in them—I know that the mission to inspire American unity is a critical element of making our country more just and free.
Nine years ago, when I said goodbye to my grandfather for the last time in Ohio, I was working on Capitol Hill. The vision for Liberatus was already forming, and when I saw him in his final days I was embarrassed by what daily life in Congress was like.
My vision for Liberatus is not to create a personal brand. After a traumatic brain injury, I of course would like to go fast because I want quick wins, and the societal dignity that comes with them. But making our country more just and free is about going far together. Before she led free people away from the abusers who treated them like slaves, Harriet Tubman survived a brain injury too.
The participation by Liberatus stakeholders in the mission to inspire American unity over the last nine years made it possible to publish 19 writers, include 60 people in content creation, create and ship 215 copies of Volume One to people in 21 states so far, and contribute $666 in funding to three partner organizations to fuel their work to care for people who have been displaced or marginalized.
Craftsmanship in politics is about listening, asking questions and doing deeper research to search for wisdom, and it’s about creating new solutions for the next generation. We can also take David McCullough's advice to “learn to edit yourself” a step further, to its broader meaning: lead yourself.
We need a vision for something new and better and more alive in our political culture and we need it badly. If we recognize that the situation is critical, that Capitol Hill is Ground Zero, then we need vision to carry us through the pain towards where we are headed. Indeed, we need to know where we are headed.
