I subscribe to the writing of about 50 Substack authors, most of them free, some paid. The paid subscriptions fall into two basic categories: authors whose writing I value so much that I am simply unwilling to miss anything they've produced - and those whose depth, integrity and wisdom in pursuit of what is true and real simply enjoin me to support the work they are doing.

Paying the first group is transactional and curiously personal: I get something valuable, I laugh, I cry, I'm uplifted, I'm informed. I'm provoked. I'm connected.

Paying the second group is expressive and purposeful and in a sense almost impersonal: in paying these authors I am able to press the world just a tiny bit in the direction of what is good and wise. I am fulfilling my own commitments. I am supporting the genuine struggle for truth where it has unexpectedly and serendipitously appeared.

"The Upheaval" belongs to both categories. It's a privilege to be a subscriber.