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GET INTO A
Boston
STATE OF PATRIOTISM
Dear Friends:
I’m either getting old and crotchety, or having some kind of Tom Brady-like awakening. Leaning towards the latter, I’ve decided to start this blog after asking myself several times: “So, what are you going to do about it?” The ‘it’ being what I believe to be a dangerous crumbling of the American democracy. My fix? Teach my child and young people just like her everywhere how to build a BS meter, develop life literacy skills, and become keenly aware critical thinkers. The hope being this will protect them from the weaponization of tech and social media by self-serving neighbors and groups pushing their own personal agendas as if it were pro-American.
I’d like my daughter to be able to soundly reject all political extremes and never have to feel she has to choose between Team Red or Team Blue. That it's her intellect and instinct that matter. Not her affiliation.
As someone born and raised just north of Boston—and a direct descendant of Mayflower pilgrim John Howland—I write from a place of deep historical and civic connection, and with a bit of hardened nerves as a Boston sports fan. My perspective reflects on growing up in the working-class suburb of Wilmington, Mass., watching All in the Family with a conservative Dad who thought Archie Bunker was funny as hell, and always so, so, right. I managed to become politically well-rounded, and I'm now raising a 14-year-old daughter who plays competitive sports in an age of increasingly blurred cultural and socioeconomic lines.
But, to be clear, Being a Boston American isn’t about geography—it’s about grit, conscience, and calling bullshit on both extremes.
It’s not a political screed. It’s a call for clarity, responsibility, and a return to a balanced playing field where victors are congratulated and teams look forward to playing another day.
Thank you for having a look. I hope you’ll share the URL with friends and teachers who might gain value from the “LERN” modules at the end of each blog.
All my best,
Dave Strand, Founder
www.BostonAmerican.com
I’m either getting old and crotchety, or having some kind of Tom Brady-like awakening. Leaning towards the latter, I’ve decided to start this blog after asking myself several times: “So, what are you going to do about it?” The ‘it’ being what I believe to be a dangerous crumbling of the American democracy. My fix? Teach my child and young people just like her everywhere how to build a BS meter, develop life literacy skills, and become keenly aware critical thinkers. The hope being this will protect them from the weaponization of tech and social media by self-serving neighbors and groups pushing their own personal agendas as if it were pro-American.
I’d like my daughter to be able to soundly reject all political extremes and never have to feel she has to choose between Team Red or Team Blue. That it's her intellect and instinct that matter. Not her affiliation.
As someone born and raised just north of Boston—and a direct descendant of Mayflower pilgrim John Howland—I write from a place of deep historical and civic connection, and with a bit of hardened nerves as a Boston sports fan. My perspective reflects on growing up in the working-class suburb of Wilmington, Mass., watching All in the Family with a conservative Dad who thought Archie Bunker was funny as hell, and always so, so, right. I managed to become politically well-rounded, and I'm now raising a 14-year-old daughter who plays competitive sports in an age of increasingly blurred cultural and socioeconomic lines.
But, to be clear, Being a Boston American isn’t about geography—it’s about grit, conscience, and calling bullshit on both extremes.
It’s not a political screed. It’s a call for clarity, responsibility, and a return to a balanced playing field where victors are congratulated and teams look forward to playing another day.
Thank you for having a look. I hope you’ll share the URL with friends and teachers who might gain value from the “LERN” modules at the end of each blog.
All my best,
Dave Strand, Founder
www.BostonAmerican.com