Introducing the American Drink Tank
Mutual improvement while imbibing
“’Tis true, drinking does not improve our Faculties, but it enables us to use them; and therefore I conclude, that much Study and Experience, and a little Liquor, are of absolute Necessity for some Tempers, in order to make them accomplish’d Orators.”
I won’t dispute that alcohol can stunt growth, but the quote above is from an essay written under the pseudonym “Silence Dogood” by a 16-year-old boy who began enjoying adult beverages at an early age and who continued to drink enthusiastically albeit moderately throughout his highly constructive and prolific life. I am referring to Benjamin Franklin, whose many impressive accomplishments are all worthy of recognition. Thinking about one of his conceptions in particular—The Junto—has lit a fire under me due to a recent confluence of events.
The Junto (also known as the Leather Apron Club) was a weekly gathering of Franklin’s friends—mostly tradesmen and artisans—whose first meetings were held in a Philadelphia watering hole called the Indian Head Tavern. The club was established by Franklin in 1727 (when he was 21), and lasted 38 years. The idea was to debate morals, philosophy, politics and issues of the day. Participants were predisposed to improving themselves and their community. According to the Benjamin Franklin Society, the meetings gave birth to the first lending library, the Union Fire Company, the University of Pennsylvania, volunteer militia, and Pennsylvania Hospital. Throw that list of inventions (rather than the drink in your hand) at the next annoying teetotaler who looks askance at your quaffing as if it were the habit of underachievers!
The Junto’s purpose was very similar to what Ryan Milton and I have in mind for The Winers. In last week’s episode, I felt a thrill go up my leg (to paraphrase the almost-forgotten Chris Matthews) when Ryan and our guest Dennis Fritz of the Eisenhower Media Network shared my zeal for Donald Trump’s plan to build cities from scratch. Ryan described his vision of an emerging golden age more broadly in his Nov. 11 Substack post.
Vanda Mikoloski, my co-host on the now-defunct Scenes From the Evolution podcast, got in touch earlier this month to ask how we could foster unity and understanding in the MAGA (or MAHA) era. Vanda, as I see it, represents a large transformative demographic that could be described as former anti-Trumpers who are now warming up to the president-elect mainly because of the team (especially RFK Jr. in Vanda’s case) surrounding him. Vanda doesn’t seem enamored of Trump so much as she wants to be a positive force regardless of who the U.S. president is. I sense there are many others who feel, or who are on the cusp of feeling, the same way, and who understand how the potential for great collaborations ripens when the focus is more on prosperity than partisanship.
Trump’s freedom city idea is just an example. Our American Drink Tank (ADT) is a new media/live event incubator dedicated to developing all sorts of innovations designed for the greater good. Operating in symbiosis with The Winers, we’ll establish various local chapters nationwide, and co-create with them on an ongoing basis. Just as The Junto’s meetings were organized around a series of questions that Franklin devised, ADT events will have set agendas that can be used as a springboard for discussion and community action. We’ll offer stipends (in partnership with sponsors) for outstanding contributions to the American revival, and periodically schedule larger events to provide an opportunity for participants from everywhere to gather in one location.
We have plenty of small town with vacancy signs on every other building. Let's make them prosper before building over what used to be open natural green space. I'll toast to that gentlemen