Reflections of an Old Political Head: Why I Do This

Hello! It’s been awhile! Where have I been?

That’s a great question with no easy answer. The past few months have been a time of distraction, frustration, and lack of focus. I’ve spent a lot of time bouncing from one idea to another, from one pursuit to another, trying to figure out a path forward as I work to continue to make a contribution.

I won’t get into the details because we all have our crosses we must bear (Oh, Oh, that’s the Catholic coming out!) and I hesitate getting into a conversation about comparing hang-ups. Let’s just say that it was a time of honest introspection, tough thinking, and finally figuring it out.

The thing that got me to where I am at now is a book by the entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and Sharktank investor Matt Higgins called Burning the Boats. It is a work that has changed my perspective on who I am, my focus, and where I want to go in the next chapter in my life. Honestly, the book helped me deal with my past (burning boats), my insecurities (imposter syndrome being the biggest), and served as a kick in the ass. If you haven’t read it yet, you really, really need to.

One of the questions that Mr. Higgins offers for consideration is, “Where have I been the happiest and what would it take to feel that way again?”

When I read the question, it was like I had been liberated because it allowed me to consider what truly made me happy and gave me permission to get back to that place.

So what is the answer?

The happiest I have ever been professionally was my time at university teaching, writing, and doing research. Married to that was my time teaching politics and international affairs at the high school and college level. It was a time of intellectual freedom and gave me the opportunity to participate in the universe of ideas. I was given the deep responsibility of forming future generations and to build on and pass forward the foundation of knowledge given to me by teachers like Dr. Edwin Fedder, Dr. Norton Long (the only professor I know who could lecture for an hour and a half without notes on Aristotle, Plato, Locke, Hamilton, Madison, and other political thinkers), Dr. Eugene Meehan, Dr. J. Martin Rochester, Dr. Joel Glassman and others.

While teaching at university didn’t work out (I didn’t write my PhD dissertation), the desire to teach, write, and do research has always been there. Yes, I was able to teach for awhile at the high school level and as an adjunct professor at the college level, but I always seemed to get sidetracked by life.

Life is funny in that you can’t get it back, that you can’t be despondent and live in the world of “would of, could of, should of.” Instead, the challenge becomes how to move forward and doing what needs to be done to get back to that place of happiness, burning the boats that hold back moving forward.

I have come to the realization that this time and place in history gives me the opportunity to once again teach, write, and do research. This forum, along with my website and political/ geopolitical risk consulting firm will allow me to do this. It is my new classroom and you are my students, and guess what, there is no tuition and no final exam.

During my long life of participating in, observing, teaching, and writing about politics and international relations, I have been around the block a few thousand times and I have seen a lot of water go under the bridge. I believe that my education, experience, and the wisdom and understanding I have gained must have some relevance today, that it can be useful in this time and place. I also have a responsibility to pass on what I know to the next generation.

We are living in crazy times. The United States is living in a world of political, cultural, and social disruption that is threatening our very democracy and way of life. It’s really bad and will probably get worse before it gets better. Internationally, the European continent is engaged in the largest land war since World War II, with no end in sight. Economically and politically, China is imploding and only they know how they are going to react to the situation in which they finds themselves. The threat of nuclear war is still ever present. Climate change, in its own way, is the new nuclear threat. Food scarcity isn’t far behind.

Somebody has to speak out about the madness, to help people understand what is going on. I know what I know and what I don’t know, But I constantly work to develop a better understanding of what’s going on and pass that on to others.

It’s time to get to work.