The Enlightened American is Not an Oxymoron.

This site is for people who feel that they're not getting the whole story about what's happening in our country.

The Enlightened American website is not about enlightenment; it's about doubt. As a wise friend once told me, our media and our institutions are very good at instilling doubt into us. Doubtful, insecure people make great consumers as they try to "keep up with the Joneses."

I've been 30 years on this earth. I spent all of my 26 self-aware years racked with doubt. And for most of those 26 years, I've been paralyzed by fear.

Fear of failure. Fear of success (and the ability to sustain it). Fear of death, of ridicule, of responsibility, of rejection, of making mistakes, of choosing the wrong course, of public speaking, of debt, of losing my income, of so many things. Fear of pursuing the things I really want from this life.

As these stories go, I had an epiphany. And cheesily enough, that epiphany came on Sept. 11th, 2001. Until then, I was a computer programmer who made good money, spent even more and in those quiet moments when I couldn't distract myself, wondered if my life would include any of the things I really cared about.

After that day, I made a decision: to pursue my interests to the fullest extent of my potential. No more excuses, no more caveats.

Since then, I've learned to play music, released a record (yes, vinyl) and toured the nation. I've staffed a major state election campaign, stumped for union workers and managed a local county supervisor campaign. In short, I've done what I wanted to do, the best that I could do it.

And yes, I was beset by doubt and fear every step of the way.

This site is my response to living in America and feeling that the essence of what it means to be an American is being perverted. It seems that we are being conditioned to be passive consumers -- to be parrots who repeat the slogans and talking points that we're endlessly barraged with -- to be spectators in our lives. A people too scared to trust their own ideas and judgements and take the actions necessary.

I don't have the answers for you. And I won't try. On my links page, you'll find sites that do a good job of arguing the case for their various positions. They could be right or not but you are going to have to think for yourself and make your own decisions.