Why? What?

So here I am - back again on the blogosphere!! What brings me back?? The simple answer is I turned 30 a month back and while there are birthdays every year, hitting 30 made me pause and really think on what is it that I really enjoy doing the most. Sure, I like work, I like traveling, I like good music, football, good whisky and beer and the list goes on but if I ask myself what would I really do if I was not bound by reality - my answer is simple, I would be a civil servant or I would be a politician!!

 

There's something that feels really good about being able to influence and lead (a sense of power has always been my No.1 aphrodisiac) and doing it on a massive scale for the betterment of a city/state/country just has an allure that I can't really put in words. This can be achieved by a mix of volunteering for society and also by helping frame discussions and debates around policies to make more informed choices. I have always held strong opinions and been vocal about them - from the time as a 5-6 year old kid when I thought I could explain the Iraq War to my recent years in Thailand where I have engaged in discussions on the different aspects of the political sides (believe me, it's not recommended at all for a foreigner to meddle in local politics even on opinions). Given that, I felt it would be good for me to start putting in writing about the number of events going on around the world and where I stand on them - it would be a good learning exercise for me and at the same time give me a diversion from my work and build a good base for the future should I ever choose to do something different.

 

So where do I stand on things - I am a liberal in many ways but deep down there's a part of me that's also conservative. Between the left wing and the right wing, economically I go right and socially I go left. I am not hostage to any single party or movement, but would like to form my beliefs based on the values that I hold dear - free speech, meritocracy, personal liberty, moral/spiritual sense of responsibility. I find myself in most situations to the Right of Center - hence, the name.

 

That being said, this isn't my first time at blogging - I was lucky that thanks to Google buying Blogger, my old blogs have survived and it's fun to read some of them but each one of them has clearly shown a trend to start off actively and then just die away!! Sad, but true. So this time I have set myself more realistic goals:

 

1) Don't expect to post more than once/week (I may even take a week or two off like some of these TV shows)

 

2) Try and do a bit of research at-least so it's not only opinion but backed with facts and links

 

3) Tackle only one topic at a time, so it's a current affairs event that can be linked back to a point in time

 

So let's see where it goes from here - too many things happening in the world right now, so maybe a post tomorrow or maybe the next week.

Sadanand