This past Saturday I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Jay Lucas (who ran as the conservative alternative in the Republican Primary for Governor back in the 1990s) about his new book “American Sunshine: Rays of Hope and Opportunity” (which is available in both Kindle and hardcopy versions. I found him very pleasant to talk with (again, we do “conversations” rather than interviews) and we discussed his other volunteer projects as well.
- Children of Fallen Patriots – a national voluntary organization that helps to fund the education of the children left behind when a parent has given their all for our country.
- Newport Sunshine Initiative – bringing the message of the book and trying to apply it in a practical way to help resurrect his hometown of Newport, NH which has fallen on hard times like so many little towns (they are about 5,000 in population) in NH. Acting as an incubator/laboratory, Jay is hoping this can be applied across the country.
Jay has written this book because he knows that we, as a country, have lost our way in a number of important values: our “Can Do” spirit, losing the ability to do for ourselves, losing the real sense of gratitude (DANG! I wish I had asked more on this topic!), and a spiritual hole / wondering who we are as individuals as we see traditional American values being tossed to and fro – some by happenstance and some deliberately. I also found out that Jay is also a fan of De Tocqueville’s writings about what he found out about the American people – and how do we regain that again?
Here’s Part 1. The other parts will be put up later on today. I’ve tried to keep them bite-sized this time:
The interview took place at UNH / Manchester during the US SBA (Small Business Administration) SBIR Road Tour – an effort by the US Government to reach out to small business for solutions to Government problems and needs. Originally, this space was rather quiet and I thought it was going to be good for the interview. Apologies that it didn’t turn out to be quite as quiet as first thought.
The short blurb about the book (reformatted):
American Sunshine celebrates the power of the human spirit and exudes a vibrant feeling of ‘Can Do’ optimism. In a readable, fun and quietly convincing way, Jay Lucas distills the core values that lie at the heart of the American experience and charts a positive path for the future. He encourages each one of us to believe in ourselves, to follow our dreams and to achieve our full potential while at the same time generously sharing. In short, American Sunshine is a visionary work – providing a timeless guide to a positive future both for our country and for each and every one of us as individual Americans.
Again, I found him rather engaging and I would have liked to have spent more time with him but his schedule didn’t allow for it. That said, now that I have the book in my hands, he’s agreed to a second interview which hopefully will dive a bit deeper into the issues and the solutions he’s excited about.
His Newport Sunshine Initiative project is also interesting. Given that GraniteGrok is looking to expand its breadth and depth, we have tentatively agreed to help sponsor a forum on this topic. Unsure when but we will make it happen.
