America's distinctiveness lies in its drive to push beyond the known, the comfortable, and the safe. To be quintessentially American, is to live at the edge of the map, constantly pushing against the boundaries of what is possible. The frontier—whether territorial, technological, social, or cosmic—has shaped the nation's character, ambitions, and conflicts. America is the story of those who embody that restless but purposeful and ambitious spirit: the explorers and inventors, the visionaries and warriors, the builders and rebels who ventured into the unknown with toughness, vigor, and skill.

The purpose of this site is to inform, inspire, and glorify but not romanticize. It's a subtle but important distinction. Glory, properly understood, is earned after intense hardships and immense sacrifice, in the pursuit of incredible deeds. The frontier, properly understood, is daunting. It hurts to venture forth. It can be unbelievably brutal and unforgiving. Many do not achieve the glory they seek. Many perish on the road to glory, often through no fault of their own. If you do not take the perilousness of the frontier seriously, it will devour you. To romanticize it is to defang it, misrepresent it, and ultimately undermine the achievements of those who did venture forth. Likewise, it is proper to glorify but not romanticize the people and groups who venture forth and succeed. We do not celebrate them because they are perfect. What is there to celebrate if they were? Their deeds are incredible precisely because of their imperfections, vulnerabilities, limitations, and failings. Despite it all, they persevered.

The frontier isn't for everyone at all times. Sometimes we're not ready. Sometimes we're not interested. But everyone, at all times, have their own personal frontiers. Aspirations and goals we haven't achieved yet. Limits and boundaries we haven't gone beyond yet. Places we've never been.

Almost everything is beyond the capability and experience of young children but they want to do it anyway. Children are natural explorers. Little frontiersman. Part of the reason they're so eager is they have no conception of the risks involved. They hurt themselves. They tend to forget quickly. Then they quickly try again. They improve quickly. But as they mature and become more conscious, their enthusiasm to explore can dampen. They remember the pain, the embarrassment, and the very real possibility of failure. This is good and natural but it can go too far. And when it does go too far, development slows down. Comfort and safety is maximized. Discomfort and risk is minimized. Capabilities flatline.

The only way to avoid this trajectory is to maintain your primal desire to explore and develop while maintaining a sober understanding of the risk and difficulty of what you're trying to achieve. Moving forward in spite of knowing there will be pain, set backs, and the possibility of failure is the modus operandi of courage. Continuing to move forward after the pain and set backs have hit and the possibility of failure is looking you in the eyes is the modus operandi of toughness and resiliency.

There are many different types of people you will learn about when going through this site. Soldiers, scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs, pioneers, and statesman of many different eras, backgrounds, talents, and personalities. Courage and toughness connect them all.