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New Name, New Look, New Stories

Everything about this newsletter is going to change next week.

Robert Potter

Jun 29

Everything is about to change.

I hope you all had a great week. So as the title implies, I’ve decided to make a few changes. In lieu of a story this week, I’m sending a short message teasing a new look and format for A Story A Week. In short, the schedule will remain the same for this newsletter, one free post a week with the occasional additional post from time to time, but everything else will change.

Next week, this newsletter will have a new name and a new logo. Additionally, I’ve decided to stop writing fiction and switch to writing about politics. Instead of one fiction story delivered to your inbox every week, I envision one longer political essay and a small section to include important links after that in each post.

More specifically, I don’t want this new incarnation to be a place to follow the blow-by-blow, second-by-second news cycle. For better or worse, Twitter is the place for that. The type of stuff I want to write about will be forward-looking and relevant, but I also want it to act as a blueprint for how the variety of archaic systems that define our lives could be made better. In the past few years especially in the wake of COVID, detrimental wars, political polarization, suppression of minorities, and state capture on a variety of fronts, it is clear that things need to change.

My goal is to infuse each post with a healthy dose of philosophy, political theory, and optimism. A few examples of upcoming posts might be a case for reforming the Supreme Court; why inequality is a feature of our current system, not a bug; why Democrats need to step up or cede their power to others who will do what it takes; and why tackling issues of race and gender identity is essential for a functioning democracy.

The natural follow-up, of course, is why me? Why should you listen to what I have to say? Well, if I may make a humble pitch for myself, I’d argue my strength is that I am not steeped in academia. I’m not particularly beholden to either party, and I’m not from a wealthy family. I don’t own a business, and I don’t hold any position of power. I’m just a regular guy who cares a lot about this stuff and is eager to talk this stuff over with anyone who will listen.

Now, all that being said, I’m not without bias. I am a white straight cis man. I have largely leftist views on pretty much everything, though, I hope to offer just as much critique to Democrats as I do Republicans. I am also American, which comes with its own level of privilege. This is also why I want this newsletter to be a place of education, a two-way street where I can offer some food for thought for you and you can reciprocate, teaching me things as well. I hope to be learning here just as much as everyone else.

Eventually, I’d love to include voices that are not just me. I don’t presume to have all the answers or even some of the answers, so offering space for others’ input is a high priority for me as well. Please send any feedback, questions, or comments you might have to me by responding to the emails or leaving a comment.

This series of tweets encapsulates exactly why we need a new way of doing things.

Ian Danskin @InnuendoStudios

There is no coherent liberal agenda. We can't enact policy the way Republicans do because that's authoritarianism, but we need to uphold the policies passed by authoritarians because that's democracy, and we have to vote for Democrats, but we can't expect them to do anything,

Ian Danskin @InnuendoStudios

so we have to vote for blue dogs to get a majority, but the blue dogs are why our majority can't accomplish anything, and we need to hold the White House for Supreme Court appointments, but if Republicans have a Senate majority they won't let us appoint judges,

Ian Danskin @InnuendoStudios

and we have to respect the rulings made by courts Republicans packed with stolen seats, and you can protest, but only in ways that don't put pressure on politicians, whose job is to negotiate with Republicans, whom we admit are authoritarians, but we can make incremental process,

Ian Danskin @InnuendoStudios

but only if we hold all three branches of government with supermajorities in both Houses for at least 30 years which is technically possible but has never happened in American history. Cool.

So why now?

I started taking an interest in politics during Obama’s second term after I voted for the first time. Since then I’ve learned a lot and met a lot of different people. While my views have changed substantially, my interest in politics and, more broadly, how society and groups of people decide to govern themselves has stayed constant. I love thinking about how groups of people can work together to solve problems in efficient, effective, and equitable ways.

For a long time, I’ve felt like I’ve talked a big game but never put my beliefs and words to action. This is one small step in that direction. This change may feel random, but for me, it’s not possible to separate politics from anything else. It’s all intimately strung together. I tried to do that with the short stories I started out writing here. I have been thinking of adapting this newsletter into something like what I’m describing here for a long time. As far as I’m concerned, I’m just a bit ahead of schedule.

Over the past few years especially, there were plenty of moments that I thought about diving in. Each time, I would get amped up for a few days to a week, and then it would fade. Well, one of those moments happened again with the Supreme Court’s striking down Roe v. Wade, effectively stripping women in dozens of states of the right to make their own choices when it comes to healthcare. I’m determined this time to not let my energy fade.

So, in conclusion, I would be honored if everyone who has subscribed thus far decided to join me on this new journey, but I do recognize this is not what you originally subscribed to in the first place. If you feel the need to unsubscribe now, no hard feelings.

Anyway, stay tuned. The first post will go out next week along with a new name and look. It’s likely to be a longer post than normal.

Until then, cheers,

Robert

P.S. Can we all channel the wonderful optimism of Senator Warnock?