Opinion Columns point out one of the problems with the essay form. Unless you're very disciplined (and I've never been accused of that), it's a one-sided conversation with the writer hogging all the good lines.

No feedback or argument, no need to defend an opinion or even to substantiate the research, if research there be. So here, under the guise of opinion, are the things I think about---those that deal specifically with politics and the more generalized concerns and enthusiasms about society itself.

If I've done them well, they'd be the foundation or opening point of view for a spirited conversation between us. They're meant to provoke rather than preach, to set the reader off on a line of thought he might not otherwise have taken, to agree and amend or heartily disagree and refute.

This archive offers:

• American Politics
  As an American citizen living outside the country, I see my country's politics through a slightly different lens. Every facet of our lives is political, from negotiating television choices to deciding where to vacation, so politics as we understand the term is merely the politics of government. The whole process fascinates me.

• Environmental Issues
  To paraphrase George Carlin, the planet is not in trouble, man may be in a whole lot of trouble, but the planet is perfectly fine.

• International Affairs
  Surprisingly, there is a world out there that is not U.S. and it's a vibrant, fast-moving and competitive place.

• Taking My Country Personally
  From Alan Greenspan to Vioxx, there's a lot of stuff going on in America about which I have very definite opinions.

• The Expat Life
  If you've left your own country for a period of years rather than weeks, for business, military or personal living . . . you've lived the expat life. Way cool, but very different.

• Things That Make Me Nuts
  Well something makes every one of us nuts from time to time and this is my personal collection.

• War in Iraq
  Who hasn't agonized over it? These thoughts begin way before we were committed.

• Washington at Work
  Or trying to work or not working. But generally Washington works amazingly well because its culture is surprisingly disciplined.

Current opinion pieces

Since September 1st, 2006, I publish all my current opinion writing via the Opinion-Columns.com blog, featuring wider selection of categories ... and the possibility to open a dialog with readers. See you there!

Get out of the Archives and read what Jim's writing today