Why subscribe?

“Ad Astra Per Aspera” is Latin for “to the stars, through difficulty”. It is the state motto of Kansas (my home state) and is very inspirational to me personally. The world is going through some difficulty right now. From the COVID-19 pandemic and its lingering effects to rising geopolitical tensions, the world hasn’t been this unsettled since WW2.

Stepping back, there have been three major thresholds in human history, each with massive social upheaval: the Neolithic Revolution (12,000 years ago), the Industrial Revolution, and the Information Revolution. In the Neolithic Revolution, humans went from hunter gathering to sedentary agriculture and animal domestication. The Industrial Revolution moved people from the farms to the cities and is still underway in some developing areas of the world. We’re in the early innings of the Information Revolution and everything from the nature of work to consciousness itself is in flux. Society is changing at an accelerating rate and the world can be hard to understand at times.

Navigating a Complex World

Ad Astra will help you navigate this complex world by pairing the history of how we got here with the topics of the day. Understanding the world through tweets and headlines can be disorientating, so Ad Astra will explain complex issues in plain English so they’re easy to understand. Finally, according to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, only 28% of Americans trust the corporate media. Ad Astra seeks to earn your trust through balanced presentation of the issues, unbiased perspectives, and rigorous sourcing.

Restoring the American Dream

Ad Astra is a US-focused blog. The American Dream is the idea that anyone in America can be better off than their parents if they work hard. Due to a number of factors, that dream is under threat in America in the 2020s. According to YouGov polling in 2022, 71% of Americans under 30 either don’t believe in the American Dream or aren’t sure it exists. This compares to 53% of Americans 65 or older who believe in the American Dream.

Ad Astra’s Mission

Ad Astra is an action-driven blog seeking to influence public opinion and policy. To that end we have 3 goals:

1)    Inform – our bi-weekly full-length posts and intermittent mini-posts seek to inform readers about key trends affecting America

2)    Inspire – our weekly #motivatiomonday posts seek to inspire readers

3)    Imagine solutions – our 5-point plan and most articles come with concrete actions to improve America

Together, this 3I’s approach seeks to reignite the American Dream.

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