Left Flank

Left Flank is Bal(t)imoron’s comprehensive personal, political, and news blog.

Bal(t)imoron is a humorously self-deprecating moniker highlighting the distinctive features of the Baltimore/Maryland spoken dialect Baltimoron refers (unofficially) to this dialect or to a resident of Baltimore, Maryland.

I was born at South Baltimore General Hospital, and lived south of the Baltimore City line, in Brooklyn Park, until 1978, when my family moved to Glen Burnie. I retain the accent, because a fellow Baltimoron, a First Sergeant in my training unit at Fort Huachuca, called me out. He was asking for introductions from the newest class, and when I tried to say, â€ūI’m from Bal-Tee-More, Mair-y-landâ€?, he shook his head. â€ūNo, you’re not! You’re from Balmer, in Merlin! I’m from Balmer, and I can hear you trying to say it wrong!â€? I might try to speak proper English for the students, but he had a point.

I studied Philosophy, Political Science, and International Relations at UMBC. I interned at the Baltimore City Jail, attended American University in Washington, DC, traveled to Europe (The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy, and Greece), and joined the US Army in 1995. One of my only regrets was that I joined the Military Intelligence Corps. But, I did get a chance to serve at Camp Humphreys near Pyongtaek, ROK from April 1997-1999 in the 751st. MI Battalion as an MI Analyst and Korean Linguist. After an honorable discharge, I moved to Busan to teach ESL. I now work at a local university.

I started writing stories and editorials for PusanWeb in 2000-2001 (search in the â€ūOld Archivesâ€? in the Fiction and Non-Fiction sections), and then started to blog. At first I edited a website written from HTML code, InfidelWorld, and later moved to Blogger. At that time, I was working through some religious issues, and also, as an expatriate, I very much felt isolated, but with many contrary opinions. I supported PusanWeb’s mission to bridge South Korean and American cultures. Over the years I have started many projects, including a novel, with numerous names. I do regret efforts to be commercial, especially a short gig at The Marmot’s Hole, or trying to be a part of that crowd. I don’t consider much of my efforts significant or worthy, except perhaps as a sort of warm-up or practice.

Since I no longer support the perspective that guides PusanWeb or my earlier writings and blogs, I’ve dropped the moniker, â€ūInfidelâ€?. Years of reflection have resolved certain issues, and I no longer consider myself in the pejorative sense of an unfaithful former member of a religion. I no longer consider myself a Christian, except in the sociological and philosophical sense that Christian concepts guide many of my political opinions and behavior. My earliest â€ūinfidelityâ€? was skepticism, followed by a serendipitous reading of Lucretius’ The Nature of Things. It is hard to express now how liberated I felt when I read that long, didactic poem. I’ve also met innumerable hypocrites claiming to be Christian, many within my own family. It is difficult not to associate the practice of religion with the failings of its practitioners, and conclude that the effort is not warranted. My father is Lutheran, my mother is Methodist, my step-father is Jewish, and my wife is a (non-practicing) Buddhist. At this stage in my life I enjoy the spectacle of all these different perspectives warring upon each. I would prefer to be a more rigorous skeptic.

My wife is Korean. Our relationship is now the sole and primary locus of what I care about as Korean-ness. I have provisional opinions about Korea, Koreans, Asia, West and East, etc. that I will express in this blog, but no firm convictions. Except, of course, that is, no one can take away my right to care for my wife. I can debate issues involved, but I reserve the right to act as I will from those conclusions. So, strictly speaking, this is not a â€ūKoreanâ€? blog, although one might gather compelling opinions and facts about Korea from it. Writing became very painful in February, 2003, when my wife suffered a miscarriage. The experience made me more mindful of questions concerning population, environment, health, and religion.

I am a graduate student at Troy University. I’m not pleased with this situation, studying in an online format. But, making a decent living in a foreign country, I compromised. I considered attending a South Korean university in Seoul. But, I do not like being in Seoul even for a weekend, and the notion of working there repulses me. I like Busan because it is a small city near the ocean, like Baltimore. I like Busanites, because they are rough, opinionated, and conservative. I always know where I stand. The weather is generally more pleasant also. I can live without â€ūcultureâ€?, as long as I have a decent movie theater nearby, and plenty of books, newspapers, and DVDs to watch. â€ūWhile the cultivation of the sciences is harmful to the martial qualities, it is even more to the moral qualities.â€? (J.-J. Rousseau, First Discourse, 51) Korea as a topic is interesting from a geopolitical and diplomatic perspective, but it is just one point on the map. I would love to live in every country in the world for one year. I like studying about political economy and international relations, which I consider to be the summit of human wisdom. Everything important and dear to us becomes a political question, because no one will agree, and, resources as scarce as they are, it is important not to squander what little there is in bad government.

If there is a single, expressible notion animating this blog, it is that difference and conflict are integral to existence; and that, conviction is ultimately deadly; therefore, fair and equitable compromise is necessary.