I take on the name Cicero not out of arrogance, but as inspiration. Cicero’s philosophies on the place of humans in the world, and thus his views on politics, were a strong influence on Thomas Jefferson, not only when he penned the Declaration of Independence, but also as he studied him more deeply later in life.
As they relate to modern politics, Cicero’s views can be regarded as a mix of modern conservatism and classic liberalism. Don’t read too much into my choice to use his name, it is simply a reminder to myself as I start this journey to remain rooted in my basic principles, which in contemporary terms fall firmly on the Conservative side of Libertarianism.
As for me, in the real world, I was born (1967) in what is considered the U.S. “Southwest” but transplanted to the mid-Atlantic region as a child, and still call it home. My formal education is limited to what was provided by public schools, expanded on by an early appetite for reading. I am an Air Force veteran who served in Desert Shield/Storm, raised a son and daughter, divorced after almost 25 years, and have been married to my wife for over 10 years now. I have 3 step-children, with the total age range of kids being about 9 years, and we have 4 grandkids with a range of about 4 years.
I was inspired to start this blog largely by the death of Charlie Kirk. His views were guided much more strongly by his faith than mine, but so was his outreach. He stood firmly on his views, but he invited disagreement. I’d like to think that his murder was inspired more by his views than his invitation, but in today’s political environment, I’m not so sure. That’s why I’m going to do this. Not to put people that disagree with me on the spot, but to invite people that disagree with me to do some research so they are able to explain to themselves, and maybe to me, why they believe what they believe.
I am not looking to attack ideas, but to analyze them. I’m not looking for “gotcha moments,” I’m looking for “aha!” moments, and some of them might be on my side. I’m also broadly hoping to inspire civil disagreement, because without that, I believe that as Americans, we are in danger of losing the liberty that our Founding Fathers risked everything for us to enjoy.
-Cicero