The purpose of this blog is to serve as a cathartic release for my thoughts on the state of the world in 2019 and beyond. Specifically, I like to rant about electoral politics, US public policy, and national security issues. As a firmly inside-the-Beltway “DC insider”, it is only lately that I’ve come to realize that my opinions on current affairs, as trivial as they are, are just as legitimate as the current cognoscenti who actually have decision-making authority. Watching the world order slowly fall apart in front of me just as I start to kick the Impostor Syndrome I’ve held since moving here, I find the chasm between “what I think should be happening” and “what I can do about it” disturbingly wide.
So, this site will be my forum for putting my internal monologue rants into some sort of organized order, so as to sharpen my own arguments ahead of Thanksgiving family political brawls and improve my writing more generally. If anyone is reading this, I hope you enjoy!
For the time being, I’ve decided on the nomme de blogue “Please Clap Paul”, borne out of a reference to one of my favorite moments in politics to date, and out of a desire to maintain my anonymity for professional purposes. If you have any better suggestions for names, I’d love to hear them.
– Please Clap Paul