I read recently that a survey of young adults in America showed that they favor socialism over capitalism,.  Socialism is not evil.  It seems to work well - for the time being (until their economies collapse under the weight of lavish government giveaways) - in western Europe.

But the degree to which socialism spawns cradle-to-grave reliance on government, rather than on self, seems at odds with who we are as Americans. 

ROAR is all about helping people find the determination to break free from their “circle of comfort.” 

That’s why in the book Joe Sturniolo and I co-wrote and which was published last summer, The Caterpillar That Roared, three 16^th Century Italian caterpillars breech that circle and literally make a leap of faith. They jump from their perch high on a tree limb and into a donkey cart. They head in a direction their leader is drawn to, his own “true North,” to a destination unknown to all three of them.

Ultimately their break from their circle of comfort takes them to the wilderness of the New World. So, that’s not just jumping into a new, wider world. That’s a whole new hemisphere.

The decision we made as authors to have the caterpillars journey to the New World was inspired in good measure by another author, James Harmon McElroy, and his book, American Beliefs (1999, published by Ivan R. Dee, available, as is our book, through www.amazon.com, and other national booksellers).

American Beliefs is an historically-based examination of the American mindset that reflects and has helped guide the thinking behind ROAR

Reaching deep into the history of our nation’s founding, McElroy examined the genesis of our American beliefs – our convictions about equality, freedom, personal responsibility – and how they have shaped our can-do spirit and optimism.

McElroy asserts that the “Stone Age wilderness” that our earliest settlers encountered, and ultimately mastered, coupled with the practicality and self-reliance we gained from this challenge, forged our American character.

He offers up to his reader scores of fascinating insights into why we are what we are, and why we as Americans believe, among other things, in these principles:

 Improvement is possible. Opportunities must be imagined. Each person is responsible for his own well-being. Helping others helps yourself.  We must have the freedom to move and change in order to be successful. 

He notes that while there has never been a nation with such a diverse heritage, historically immigrants here have embraced this unique blend of beliefs, understanding that they form the foundation for what brought them here in the first place.

W can change our personal futures provided we don’t wait for others to do it for us.

  ROAR team member Dan Christopherson