This blog is primarily a chronicle of the cross-country bike ride I will begin on June 16th out of Astoria, Oregon. By getting out of Washington DC and biking through some of the cities and towns along the northern stretch of the United States, I hope to learn a bit about what is on the minds of people in this election year. While I might occasionally benefit from the wisdom of waitresses at Applebees, my mode of transport means I will not gain the insights of cabdrivers, which have proven so illuminating to others (although I am sure I will find that this country is most certainly not flat).

The title of the blog comes from an idea for a drinking game hatched by my friends. It is a cliche to say we live in time as fish live in water, but it is the dimension that engulfs us. Part of how we come to understand the significance of events in our own time is by seeing them in relation to the past and (an imagined) future – as if connected by an arc. My fondness for this notion has led certain people, who shall remain nameless, to propose that everyone in earshot must take a drink whenever I declaim “there is an arc.…”

Well, it could be worse I suppose. In any event, I think individually and collectively we are all hastening into a future that is happening more quickly than our habits of mind have prepared us for. Broader perspectives and a more generous spirit may serve us well; at least that is the hope of this blog and the intent of my journey.