I am a history teacher at the high school level (I teach AP US history, AP European history, and International Baccalaureate World history). I’m also a Ph.D. candidate specializing in US history/US-Mexico Borderlands and World history (Imperialism). I’m happily married to my college sweet-heart and have been for 12 years now. I served for almost 10 years in the US Navy (aka the Imperial Navy).
So how did I become an anarchist? My road to anarchism was a long one. I grew up in a conservative household in the 1970’s and 1980’s. My grandfather served in the Army from 1941-1971 and, in the 1980 election voted for Ronald Reagan (he was one of those Reagan democrats who would never vote for a democrat again, at least not for president). I loved Reagan as a kid and was a die hard Republican. However, by 1991 I started to have doubts. There was something about the Persian Gulf War that didn’t seem right. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then there was the Tiananmen Square massacre and the way we said one thing about it but did something else. So I voted for Clinton in 1992. By 1994 I was disappointed with the business as usual Clinton administration and how things never changed no matter who was president.
In 1996 I voted Libertarian after having discovered Harry Browne. I again voted for Browne in 2000 and in 2004 I voted for Badnarik who ran as a libertarian. By then I had come to know and respect Ron Paul, so I was quite excited when he ran for president in 2008. I also became familiar with the Austrian School of economics and the Mises institute(thanks to Ron Paul). Thus began my education in the writings of such people as Murray N. Rothbard and Ludwig von Mises.
In January of 2010 I became an at-risk coordinator at the high school I was working in, and that pushed me over the edge. Seeing the waste, fraud and abuse first hand that is rampant in education was enough. I finally understood that the school is simply a microcosm of the problems of government. The stupidity of the school board is no different from the stupidity of the central government. Government does not work. One size does NOT fit all in things like clothes and ball caps, so why does anyone expect it to work in government (or education)?
I had, until recently, had a blog which I was quite proud of, but I found I didn’t have the time to keep it up. Having then deleted said blog I realized that I need to do this. I need to make time for this, as I find it quite soothing to get my opinions out there. So, if you follow this blog I promise I will blog at least once a week. I can keep that up. Of course, in the summer, I will probably blog on a more regular basis (but I’m not going to make any promises at this point).
What will this blog be about? Anarchy, of course! Economics, history, politics. Probably about my adventures as a Ph.D student and just about anything else I decide to write about. I hope you will respond with insightful comments and we can have a conversation. Of course, any silly comments or comments of an inappropriate nature will not be tolerated.
The Philosophical Anarchist 