From small town to city to small town. How many times can a person start over? Raised in a small northern New England town, I spent 25 years in Los Angeles and another few years in Sri Lanka. I’ve worked corporate jobs from the loading docks to administration, started businesses, and worked on a team trying to end a civil war. Now I’m an accountant, cheesemaker, and writer in rural Utah.
I started this blog in 2006 with the idea of discussing the spiritual journey. But, as Gandhi observed, we cannot be spiritual beings without getting involved in politics. My posts increasingly deal with environmentalism, global justice, and more recently, the increasing shift in wealth and power from individual Americans to corporations. Here you’ll find reflections on our role in the global economy, conservation tips, local food resources, and analysis of tax issues.
“With malice toward none, with charity for all…” –Abraham Lincoln
I consider myself an independent thinker. I am not religious, belong to no political party, and sometimes get ridiculed by both conservatives and liberals (and on the same issues). My goal is to find the truth in a national discussion dominated by hyperbole and misinformation. Being an accountant, I love statistics, and am quick to fact-check anyone (left or right) whose claims are suspect.
I do my best to allow others their opinions born of their unique experience. But I have little tolerance for misinformation– statistics don’t lie, but liars use them quite often. And if I seem to lack charity toward our elected leaders of the present and recent past, it’s because I believe they ought to know better.
“I will lead the blind by a road they do not know.
I will turn the darkness before them into light.” —Isaiah 42:16
The challenges we face are great. Yet I believe that way through will become clear. We must look to our own clarity first, setting right our own relationships to others. Then we can look to our communities, and finally to nations and the world. We can take the actions we need to take. But we must think things through carefully. We all have too little time and energy to waste it taking actions that are ineffective.
I hope you enjoy my blog. But above all, I hope it inspires you to do just a little bit more than you otherwise might.