I am pleased to introduce the readers of The Way of Improvement Leads Home to Current.
Current is an online journal of commentary and opinion that provides daily reflection on contemporary culture, politics, and ideas. We seek to ground ourselves in the broad tradition of American democracy—a tradition whose practices and institutions we believe are moving through a period of great stress and testing. We confess that we once took for granted many of the basic assumptions of our democracy, including a shared core of American values. We no longer do.
We are exhausted by the cultural warfare that now dominates our civic life, threatening to undermine bonds of family, friendship, and neighborhood. We are demoralized by the quasi-religious authoritarianism we see growing on both the right and the left. We endeavor to provide commentary that clarifies and explains our political and cultural moment, summoning readers to intelligent, constructive response.
Like American democracy at its best, we aspire for Current to be dynamic, divergent, and civil. If spirited, even profound disagreements occur, they will be bounded by common commitments to liberty, justice, and equality.
While the founding editors are Christians, we are committed to publishing diverse voices that share our concern for the state of American democracy.
If all goes well, my blog, The Way of Improvement Leads Home, will move to Current by end of the week. Those who come to this space will be redirected.
In addition to the blogging and podcasting you have come to expect from The Way of Improvement Leads Home, Current will add a daily 800-1200-word essay on a topic related to American politics, the meaning of democracy, public theology, historical reflection on current events, and cultural criticism. On April 5, 2021, we will feature six 800-1200-word essays on the site and then one new essay every day (M-F) after that. We have a talented and diverse group of contributors lined-up. We are amazed every day at the caliber of intellectuals, cultural critics, and writers who have said “yes” to our invitation to write for Current.
We need your help to make this happen.
We are fundraising through Patreon in the hopes of raising enough money to start reimbursing authors in six months. We also have start-up costs and plans for new content. You can learn more about our plans and how to support us at our Patreon site. We redesigned this site, added new support tiers, and instituted a completely different benefits package from the old TWOILH Patreon page. (Sorry, no more signed books or mugs–I guess the old The Way of Improvement Leads Home mugs are now collectors items! 🙂 ) We are committed to delivering daily context for all readers and extensive premium content–both written and audio– for our patrons. Our community of patrons is growing and we have been providing them with updates about Current for a few weeks now.
Stay tuned for more! And thank you in advance for your support of this project!
