Thoughts on Living Well

This blog can be a guide through the complexities of today’s world. Dive into insightful commentary, timeless stories, and the rich wisdom of literature as James shares his experiences and perspectives. Whether you’re seeking solace in troubled times or simply a fresh perspective on life, you’ve found the right place.

Bio picture of a silhouette

About

My name is James. I am a retired grandfather of two who enjoys spending time with his two grandsons to help their mom and dad guide them in navigating what seems to be an unraveling world lacking role models and persons of exemplary character.  I am starting this blog because I want to instill hope and enable people to see silver-linings in an ever-cloudier landscape.  

I have an especial interest in education and literacy, having served as tutor, advocate, and outreach coordinator for my local literacy council.  I hope that I can, in some small measure, assist readers find their voice, sharing what I have learned from a long life of lived experience.   

Starting from the premise that all politics is “downstream” from culture, and that literature is the well-spring of a healthy culture, I have discovered a wealth of wisdom to be found in testimonies from stories in history and humane letters that will instruct seekers and tame the waywardness of the human heart.

If you are feeling overwhelmed with the world and all that is taking place, and you are interested in timely commentary from a traditional perspective, you have come to the right place.  

Most Recent Post

NORTH AMERICA: A TALE OF TWO PROGRESSES

When the American Civil War ended with the surrender of General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, scarcely any American, north or south, could estimate how much the country had changed from the peaceful and prosperous nation of thirty-one million souls to a nation burdened with debt, with the south in ruins, and over 600,000 men—the flower of a generation—had perished.  Young men who should have been starting families, instead left scores of widows and never-married women to die alone and forgotten.  With sometimes hard feelings and desire for revenge, nevertheless, reconciliation and reconstruction were taking apace in the business of ...
Read More

Discover More

NORTH AMERICA: A TALE OF TWO PROGRESSES

When the American Civil War ended with the surrender of General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, scarcely any American, north or south, could estimate how ...
Read More

PROGRESSIVISM: FROM ABOLITION TO A NEW SERFDOM

In my last post (Onward Progress), I had intended to give an account of the history of progress from its origins in Medieval Europe, especially ...
Read More

ONWARD PROGRESS

Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the ...
Read More

R.I.P. Charlie Kirk

“In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares.” –Abraham ...
Read More

CIVILIZATIONAL NIGHT AND THE DARK ENLIGHTENMENT

The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places. – Ernest Hemingway CIVILIZATION IN HISTORY Civilization, as a salient topic of ...
Read More

GABRIEL MARCEL: A CHRISTIAN OUTLOOK FOR OUR FRACTURED WORLD

Both the informed Christian and the secular educated seem to have forgotten everything about Gabriel Marcel (1887 – 1973).  Throughout the twentieth century, Marcel has ...
Read More

Contact