The Rebirth of a Renaissance Man

Welcome to my new blog. The Peripatetic Mind. Look up "peripatetic" and you find that it means "walking or traveling about; itinerant." However, it also has a more focused definition, "walking or traveling about to teach." A "peripatetic" is a wanderer, or more specifically, a wandering teacher -- a wandering muse, if you prefer. Yes, the Peripatetic Mind is a wandering teacher.

Capitalize it and Peripatetic means "of or pertaining to Aristotle or the Aristotelian school of philosophy." A "Peripatetic" is "a follower of Aristotle." Aristotle, of course, was the wandering philosopher of ancient Greece. He gave us Socrates, a fellow who committed a self-righteous suicide for the sake of reason, not faith.

All of the above definitions will animate this blog. Each of the above definitions provides clues as to my purpose. The blog will touch on many subjects. It will go places to learn, and then to teach. It will be informed by philosophy. It will be an attempt to find guidance in reason and logic. Brought up a Roman Catholic by parents who were "born again" and moved toward nondenominational fundamentalism (despite being intelligent people otherwise), I am not big on faith. Faith opposes questions. It denies answers. It is antithetical to reason. During my adolescence I stumbled upon the choice between Faith and Reason, and I chose Reason. Why? Because Reason welcomed difficult questions and explored for answers.

My wandering mind has been a weakness of mine when it comes to making a career. It makes decisions as to which path to follow more difficult. I am constantly looking to switch courses. As a result, I drifted into the career I inhabit, and it does not suit me as I would like. This blog is an attempt to turn that weakness into a strength, to capitalize on it by Capitalizing it.

ONCE UPON A TIME, I went by Joyce Junior. It was one of my first online personae. That was before the World Wide Web (WWW) was developed. It was in the world of BBSes. Joyce Junior used a 2400 baud dialup modem. The USRobotics 19200 modem was a revolution. Now I am going by Jefferson Junior.

Joyce Junior was the nom de plume of Sam Adams for his rabble-rousing. Joyce was some English revolutionary "long ago" when Adams was inciting crowds in Boston. Joyce Junior was a firebrand, a polemicist, a trouble-maker for the cause of American liberty.

Jefferson was a mature revolutionary. He looked to philosophy and law. He was a revolutionary who also governed. He created the Library of Congress. He founded the University of Virginia, my alma mater and still the home of my mind. He was an architect and a designer, an inventor and a gardener. He was also a financial failure. Most of his projects went unfinished, he was always in debt, and he died poor. His library became the seed for the Library of Congress when it was sold off to pay his debts.

The change from Joyce Junior to Jefferson Junior reflects my maturation process. I am no longer interested in rabble-rousing and intellectual trouble-making (non-violent methods were always central to my theory of revolution). Now I am interested in philosophy and architecture, governance and gardening. I am also, fittingly enough, a financial failure. Permanently in debt and likely to die poor. Most of my projects go unfinished. But I have a deep passion for the correct governance of my people and desire to be part of the Great Conversation.

I am a man in my early forties with two children from a first marriage, about to enter my second marriage. I left my wife two years ago for reasons that will remain private, and in less than a week I will marry my 20-year-old fiancee. My 10-year-old daughter will lead her down the aisle. In my past I took many drugs, but I still made it through undergrad and law school. I am hounded by debt collectors; some of "my buddies" call ten times in a day. I have no health or life insurance. I have stumbled and bumbled my way through life, but somehow I have progressed to a place where I am happy. I feel younger than I did at 22. I am taking on new challenges. I look ahead and see a future. I am crafting a new life, and this blog is part of that. It is the Rebirth of a Renaissance Man. General Sherman is my inspiration.

Welcome to my blog. It will grow and develop. I have a Road Map for Peace in my head. The blog will touch upon many subjects repeatedly, subjects like Israel, Iran and the Middle East, Russia, Europe, populist socialism and drug wars in Latin America, China and great power hegemonic struggles, the Drug War and marijuana liberation, the culture of narcissism, health care and insurance, environmental and energy policy, family law and the state of boys in this country, and probably a miscellany of others as well, including World Cup soccer (I am a despairing fan of the USMNT). Don't worry, I will keep it organized.

I hope your mind will find a rest stop here. I don't want to be your "home page." I'm not Google or Yahoo or MSN or any of the other major players in cyberspace who want to dominate your Desktop. I just want to be a place you stop in for a beer (a Sam Adams Boston Lager perhaps?) and good conversation, or perhaps for a little revolution-making.