You have heard it said “Go Touch Grass” but I say unto you “Go Flip Pages.”

Monday Memo 6/15 2026

Welcome to the Monday Memo, where I explore the world’s enduring dynamics; grounded in first principles, philosophy, character, and statecraft, rather than passing fads.

Hi readers. Today I will keep it short, as I have not had access to my computer, but I wanted to follow up on a few items from the last couple of weeks.

First, I have heard from a few of you about a lack of celebratory feeling surrounding the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Second, my pieces on the American spectacle on Friday, and the need for the liberal arts, which was the focus of last Monday’s post, also gained some traction.

I will address them all in additional subscriber posts this week, because here is what I have learned from you: you want a plan for the summer to help you get through these difficult days and the tendency to catastrophize. You are asking, “What can we do right now?”

I get it, and I hear you. You want a weekly memo that offers both philosophy and actionable steps, much like last year when I wrote about libraries.

Summer, the Library, and our Third Spaces

Well I stand by that suggestion.

Yes, you should go to the library.

You should meet friends there.

You should plan family outings at the library.

I stand by the idea that it is good to have a place to go and build community where no one expects you spend money.

Public libraries are more than buildings filled with books. They are the physical manifestation of the belief that knowledge should be available to all who are willing to seek it. It is democratic civics realized by the mere existence of the building. You can walk into a library with nothing but curiosity, and walk out with a piece of the galaxy of wit and wisdom. The library doesn’t care who you voted for, how many followers you have, what car you parked outside, or if you walked. It only assumes that you want to read. — Dr. Thompson in “Summer, the Library, and our Third Spaces”

I’ll share other ideas like this in the days ahead has I am uploading podcasts and responding to your comments and messages. Keep them coming.
Also The Exception won the Substack and Facebook poll for my next history movie review so stay tuned for that. I will keep future polls exclusively on Substack so I can track them more easily.

But for today let me end by urging you go to the library this summer and hopefully meet some of your neighbors in the stacks and shelves.

You have heard it said “Go Touch Grass” but I say unto you “Go Flip Pages.”

Happy Monday, and happy reading.

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Photo by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash