Phew, I’ve now posted around 18 chapters in serial fashion of THE SPIRIT OF ’76 CAFE: A Global Revolutionary Journey to Reclaim Our Democracy on my Substack.
Hope you’ll subscribe and check them out and let me know what you think.
The penultimate chapter will be posted on July 2, the anniversary of our nation’s ‘real’ independence day, when our Second Continental Congress declared that day in 1776 its independence from Britain. And the final chapter on July 4th, when we’ll also be holding a live virtual Spirit of ’76 cafe via Zoom (inbox me if you’d like to take part, please. I’ll also post a flyer again in a day or two).
The Declaration Project (declarationproject.org) and the Spirit of ’76 Cafe represent the evolution of my life’s work — moving from the philosophical inquiry of Socrates Café to active civic engagement timed for the United States’ 250th anniversary in 2026.
1. The Foundation: The Declaration Project
Launched around 2015 under the auspices of his non-profit Democracy Café, the Declaration Project was designed as an online and interactive initiative with two main goals:
Curating History: It compiles a comprehensive collection of declarations of independence from around the world and throughout history, not just the 1776 U.S. document.
Personal Agency: It invites users to draft their own “MyDeclaration,” encouraging individuals to articulate their core beliefs and political voice. The central premise is that a “more perfect union” requires citizens to stop being passive spectators and actively define what they stand for.
This project served as the digital and intellectual groundwork for my later physical and virtual journey, shifting the focus from simply reading history to making it.
2. The Culmination: Spirit of ’76 Cafe (Substack)
In earnest in 2026, coinciding with the Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary) of the United States, I transitioned this work into a mobile, on-the-ground initiative called the Spirit of ’76 Cafe. This project, documented extensively on mySubstack, functions as a “travelogue of the American sol and the soul of the global citizen.”
How the Declaration Project “leads” to these posts:
From Digital to Physical: While the Declaration Project asks people to write their beliefs online, the Spirit of ’76 Cafe takes those questions to physical historic sites.
The “Audit” of Ideals: My Substack posts record these conversations, acting as an audit of the pledges made in 1776. Instead of just celebrating the anniversary with “confetti,” I use the platform to examine to what degree the “American Experiment” is still functioning, and how it is entwined with global efforts for greater self-determination.
