The First Link: Thomas PM Barnett

The first entry in the links section, is Tom Barnett's web page. As long as I have this blog, it will have the honor of being the first link I recommend. I noted in my first post, that several people inspired me to begin to write a blog, Tom Barnett, and in turn, the fellow bloggers whom I met via his site prompted me to join this vast forum, where ideas are ginned up to blaze new trails across the terrain of human interaction.

My first introduction to Tom Barnett came in 2004 when I read his book, The Pentagon's New Map. It grabbed my attention, just as I was returning to school to retool myself as a historian. As I sat in classrooms surrounded by young people, who in many cases were the first generation offspring of new Americans, I began to truly understand the legacy of our nation and get a peek into the future. This nation was built on the ability to gather souls from across the planet, assimilate them, give them the freedom to excel, and then reap the bounty that bloomed from that fertile seedbed. If my prose sounds overly optimistic for a member of the self indulgent, narcissistic Boomer generation, it is because I find myself becoming more visionary in my elder years.

Since 2004, Tom Barnett has authored two books, maintained a daily blog, written dozens of articles and columns and kept a continuous worldwide speaking schedule, in an effort to a challenge the developed World and the United States in particular, to use their vast resources and good fortune, to provide the heavy lifting of humanity from the bowels of poverty, to a reasonably existence.

There is not enough space here to fully explain all the facets of Tom Barnett's vision of the future. In that spirit, I urge all who read this to visit his web page, read his blog, and his books, in order to understand his vision for a "Future worth creating." He has the courage and vision to open a dialogue on the future and deserves to be heard.

http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/