Old Empresario

I am a father of three, a professional soldier, a defense contractor, an historian, and have a BA. Unfortunately, I am also a shameless hypocrite and an occasional scumbag. In my writings, I am seeking to define American culture as I have understood it. As an historian, I like to focus on presenting facts and developing a simple truth through a general analysis. While some people prefer to slavishly provide facts alone, they tend to lose the interest of their audience. On the other side, some people will develop their own truths, while presenting no facts. Though this is common, I find it immoral to surrender one’s objectivity without full disclosure of evidence. As a former army officer, I will write intelligently about warfare and the military subculture of our nation. I know American business inside and out. I have worked for good and bad CEOs and worked under some large equity firms. Though I never mean to offend, I always tell the truth as I understand it. Most importantly, I do not lie to myself. I find there is no truer evil than self-justification. Given my background, the conclusions I reach in my writings are perfectly hypocritical. But I have gained a therapeutic enjoyment in poking fun at the fields that have made me successful. I like to think that I had merely fit into and thrived in an inflexible system already in place.

But I enjoy history most of all. Overall, the US is a society which, in its simplest terms, appears to be nothing more than a cultural mixture of the descendents of immigrants, freedmen, and former provincials of Britain. These three groups all struggle to find a common identity within our nation. Though our government was founded on assumptions of freedom and individual rights, our society was based on a love of money. I certainly love it and I would not trust anyone who does not. I have no use for such "principles" as religion or nationalism. But while the new American culture continues to take shape, its government faces a muddled future. Only by finding the numerous parallels of the past can we define the present and prepare for what is to come.