I just want to say one thing to you Substackers.

It is very, very tempting to feel that, in the face of such dramatic changes in our country, our writing is a waste of time. I feel this every day. But I also know that every single issue we are facing, every problem we’re going to have to solve, starts with the logic (and magic) of story.

Who is telling the story, and who is believing it?

What is the agenda behind the story?

What and whose stories are not being told?

Are there better, truer stories we can tell?

What kind of excruciating work do we need to do as individuals and as a society to confront the lies we tell ourselves, and how might we change to see things more clearly?

What does it cost to become the kind of person who can tell a true story? (Hint: It’s not nothing.)

What does it cost to tell that true story out loud? (Hint: It might be a whole lot.)

If you are here, it is because you have decided to make storytelling a central concern of your life. And the world needs people who are crafting stories that aren’t warped by power, distorted by money, or influenced by self-interest.

When the world is complicated, storytellers make sense of it. That is you.

Write, write, write. Write until you can tell the truth.