February 1, 2004
MIDLIFE CRISIS AT 35,000 FEET

As we climb out of DFW and head for the Gulf Coast, midnight approaches for February 1, 2004. Tragedy struck America over these same skies just one year ago this day as Columbia broke apart and took the lives of seven brave individuals. I contemplate this to put in proper perspective my own unsettled state of mind (far less significant as it may be) as my family begins this journey. Some people approach middle age and indulge in red sports cars or in members of the other gender in order to stave off or least rationalize the creep of aging. Nothing so simple for Catherine and me - we have to drag our four children through the world on a journey planned to the nth degree. While this trip may, indeed, be nothing more than a fiscally irresponsible middle age fling in order to put off tough decisions, I can at least rationalize that it serves a more noble purpose. So why this journey and why now?

The fall in 1993 of the Soviet Bloc, and the bi-polar geopolitical framework that it supported, forced analysts worldwide to scramble for a new construct that explains our new world and conveniently overlooks their inability to predict that watershed transition. Fukuyama and others advanced an “end to history” thesis suggesting that capitalist liberal democracy will be history’s end point. While attractively optimistic, the timing of this hypothesis may be a bit off as the planes that smashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11 also smashed many such ideas regarding the world we live in. I remember reading one impactful framework in the 1980’s by Samuel Huntington that seemed to better fit the events and forces we witness. In his Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Huntington suggests that civilizations and cultures have replaced nation-states and ideologies as the driving forces of world order. Interestingly, I find that this construct also helps explain the growing rift between “Red” America and “Blue” America. I had largely forgotten Huntington’s book until a friend, Mike Pearson, reminded me that our itinerary for this journey matched Huntington’s core civilizations:
Santiago - Latin American
Cape Town - Sub-Saharan Africa
Bangalore - Hindu
Kyoto - Japanese/Shinto
Sydney - Western
Shanghai - Sinic/Confucian
St. Petersburg - Orthodox
Marrakech - Islamic
Europe - Western

Catherine and I have seen our children grow-up under the pervasive influence of U.S. media. While we can enjoy “Sponge Bob Square Pants”, Avril Levigne, and Halo as much as the children, these entertainments neither adequately prepare them for the harsh realities of a world in conflict nor provide necessary nourishment for the soul. Hence, this trip attempts to provide our children with a brief exposure to the cultures, languages, and religions that these destinations represent. While three weeks in each destination may be inadequate for a full appreciation, it’s a start of what we hope is a life-long quest for understanding. We cannot, as Americans, stick our heads in isolationist sand and hope the world doesn’t bother us. Neither is it practical to attempt to unilaterally bend the entire world to our will. We may be a sole superpower but ask Rome and Victorian England about how easy it is to maintain that position. To be successful in protecting our national interests and competing in this economically interdependent world, more Americans must have an adequate understanding of the fundamental forces driving the other cultures and civilizations in the world. Hopefully this trip will be a step in this direction for our children.

As to “why now?”, the age profile for our children suggests that it’s now or never. Alex, our six-year-old, is just old enough to retain some memories of the trip. James, our oldest, is a freshman in high school and we don’t want to interrupt any of their high school years after this. Fortunately, Catherine and I can also take breaks from our careers now to be away for this time. We also both want to use this time to contemplate where we are in our careers, what we have and have not accomplished and figure out what to do next. I imagine most of our friends would tell us to quit whining and go back to doing what we have been doing! Maybe they are right and hoping for a “Saul on the road to Damascus" moment is asking too much.

In any event, we will use this space to share with friends and family what we observe, what we experience, and hopefully share how we grow from this journey. Please send us e-mails as we go along and share your thoughts, observations, and questions.