I won't start off listing my degrees and accomplishments because I think that would simply be to continue playing the dehumanizing game of our post-Enlightenment system built on rationalism, atomism, and utilitarianism--precisely what CSPER hopes to change.
Instead I'll say that one of my most touching moments in recent memory was escorting a 50-year-old woman with Down's Syndrome, I'll call her Tracy, as she walked her dog around the block of a small midwestern town. A perfect 70-degree afternoon. Breathing in the crisp air deeply. Absorbing spring in full bloom. Watching the clouds move. Delighting in the simple play between self, other, dog, and nature. Hearing Tracy's laughs and intermittent thoughts about Jesus. Rest and joy permeated the space to eliminate any consciousness of time, job, money, and "the news."
Moreover, I was disgusted at the fact that Tracy was hostage to a system that treated her as a widget. It treats us all as widgets. And almost nobody can comprehend the system because it is so massive in scale, so beyond the level of individuals and communities (see video on scale). Yet our lives depend on it. If the system burps, our lives are dramatically effected. If the system collapses, our lives are ended.
I decided it was time to launch CSPER.
So I am a person who has recovered from all the indoctrination that was pumped into my head by Harvard Business School, the US Military Academy, and the rest of the education system and the media. I spent too much time in careers that exacerbated the velocity and scale problems mentioned above. This time was spent in systems (military, big government, big banking, and big corporate) that would push Tracy into a separate enclave because they don't value her humanity. This truth now smacks me in the face everyday and I wonder why so many are still chugging away in those systems that are so obviously devalue the idea of a holistic, meaningful life.
These systems are destroying local community, indigenous population, the American republic, and the individual heart. My goal is to be an advocate for those things. I want to participate in redemption, and help heal what I previously harmed by participating in those system. In addition to CSPER, I am also hoping to work toward redemption as a writer, counselor, and post-neoclassical economic philosopher.
After leaving empire life, I spent a lot of time reconnecting with nature, trekking and mountaineering, and attended seminary at Mars Hill Grad School.
Political disclaimer: Some of you are probably wondering, "where does Damon stand politically?" That's a great example of the harm our system has caused. Rather than seeing the human, we want to bucket each other into the camps we've been trained to fight for or against. In my view, all of those buckets are destructive. I am decidedly opposed to BOTH the establishment left and right. They work together to build the expansionary big government / big business empire system fueled by drowning everyone in more and more debt. I stand politically with the "small" against the "big." I am a human being, not a checkbox. All of you are too. I hope others feel the human connection and join this effort to return to "small."
Favorite books: Anything by Wendell Berry or Henri Nouwen.
Favorite youtube videos: Martin Luther King speeches. We've been trained to see him through our political lens. Big mistake. See him as a human and the words will affect you in profound ways.