16 Comments
User's avatar
Terri's avatar

I know, and he certainly had his own issues as we all do. I just find it to be the ultimate irony that the at the root of these conflicts are religion. It doesn’t make sense to me. It’s that little part of my personality that is Laurel Canyon.

Expand full comment
JJ Saur's avatar

Great seeing you this week John, and thanks for your fantastic speech and the indelible mark you left on all of our attendees. I would have loved to steal more of your time, but wanted to allow our guests a chance to pick your brain, which they certainly did... glad to hear you finally made it back to Ithaca safe and sound. Until next time!

Expand full comment
John Hulsman's avatar

Until next time, JJ! Lets be sure and have a quiet coffee to just chat amongst the 3 or 4 of us on our own then. But yes, the setup was wonderful as I had ample time after the speech (thanks for the kind words about the work; my whole gang was involved so i’ll pass along to the team here) to really get to talk to literally dozens of people about the speech, political risk in general, and our work in particular. I dont remember meeting so many people in so many intense and creative chats ever before, so kudos to you all! Fondly and onwards, John

Expand full comment
Robert Osborne's avatar

Thank you John for coming all the way to Bermuda and for your kind words. The feedback from attendees has been all very positive - you made a great impression and gave us all lots to think about and discuss.

Expand full comment
John Hulsman's avatar

Dear Rob, it was entirely my pleasure; I am glad it went down so well. Until next time, fondly, John. See you in the autumn!

Expand full comment
Kieran Wilson's avatar

Sounds like a great conference, John. Hopefully you’ll be able to give us a Chatham House style dumbed down version in due course. What likely unnerves the West most is confronting a worldview that sees the afterlife as superior to this one, rendering compromise meaningless.

Expand full comment
John Hulsman's avatar

Hey Kieran, yes, sure, we are planning (and not dumbed down) a Chatham House version for the community this week, on the first slow news day. It’s longer, but a new speech is to be treasured, as they take so long, and require such creative work; in short, they are a lot of fun and am dying to share with the community. Have a great rest of weekend

Expand full comment
Kieran Wilson's avatar

Great stuff John, I look forward to it. You too. Hopefully you know which time zone you are in now.

Expand full comment
Terri's avatar

Imagine No Religion

Expand full comment
John Hulsman's avatar

I can’t Terri, as its so fundamental to who we are as humans and what we think. I dont think that’s a bad thing (John was pretty intoheroin at this time)

Expand full comment
Dianne Carlson's avatar

Terri, I understand what you are saying, I have tried to gather a better understanding to the underlying issues for myself. My independent thoughts; Violence in the Middle East may have religious elements... but, form what see is wars are typically driven by a mix of factors, including political power, economic resources, and territorial disputes, with religion sometimes serving as a rallying point or justification rather than the root cause.

Expand full comment
Terri's avatar

Its exasperating. We have an issue in Ohio right now where a Palestinian physician road raged congressman Max Miller, who of course is Jewish. I don’t understand why assimilation now seems to have a bad connotation. This is America, don’t hash out these endless issues over here. John has discussed what happens (or what should happen) when families immigrate legally to America. There is a desire to assimilate, to learn the language, to be united as Americans. I love to learn about different cultures, especially this time of year in Ohio, it’s festival season. I love the melting pot of different cultures. But we are Americans first. I don’t take it for granted.

Expand full comment
Kieran Wilson's avatar

When you are in someone else’s house, you take your shoes off, respect their customs, and do not expect them to adopt yours. That is not exclusion. It is the first step toward cohesion.

Expand full comment
Terri's avatar

Yes!

Expand full comment
Terri's avatar

This was sort of a part 2 of the original topic

Expand full comment
Dianne Carlson's avatar

Good morning Terri, Thanks for sharing. I agree that assimilation is key in America. We’re a melting pot where diverse cultures can thrive—festival season in Ohio is a great example of celebrating our different cultures... But, "Being American First" is an absolute!!! Coming Together Under Shared Values is that unity. We can all learn from one another with respect.

Expand full comment