About the Author
Daniel Buck is a public school teacher in Wisconsin with a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. On the side, he writes regular commentary about education and literature for publications like The Foundation for Economic Education, The Federalist, and Quillette. He is also the head columnist at Lone Conservative, a website dedicated to mentoring and publishing college-aged conservatives.
What inspired you to start writing?
I fell into writing passively instead of through an active pursuit. It began as what I thought was a tangential side-hobby, writing poetry and editing my high school newspaper; though, I still considered myself a STEM-brained student, I began reading philosophy in graduate school, took a liking to non-fiction, and discovered that I had a talent for it. With a retrospective look at my life, I realized that I'd been a writer all along but just hadn't seen it.
What are your hobbies / interests?
Competitive running, very amateur wood working, and volunteering with youth organizations. I still haven't decided for writing and teaching, which is my hobby and which is my vocation.
Who are your personal heroes?
Too many writers and artists to name, Dietrich Bonhoeffer for my faith, and Chris Solinsky for my running.
How did you discover the freedom philosophy?
A conservative friend of mine recommended "The Closing of the American Mind" to me in college. The Bible taught me how to live but that book taught me how to think. From there, I read various libertarian-minded thinkers like F.A. Hayek and J.S. Mill and discovered the power of liberty to empower individuals and societies.
Who are your favorite writers?
I never tire of the books of Soren Kierkegaard, E.B. White, G.K. Chesterton, and J.R.R. Tolkien. Living authors whose work I follow include Tim Keller, David French, Robert Pondiscio, and Jonathan Haidt.