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We live in “interesting times.” Examine any issue -- the economy, energy, food, housing, financial markets, health care, religion, politics, civil rights, international relations, global trade, the environment, immigration, law enforcement, national security, wars in the Middle East, nuclear proliferation – and you will find turbulent change, confrontation and often conflict. Taken separately, each of these issues poses specific, limited dangers to various segments of the world’s population. However, in a highly interdependent world, convulsions within any given issue tend to produce untoward effects within others capable of creating a critical mass with virtually limitless potential for catastrophe.

Presently, these issues affect various segments of the earth’s population in different ways. For the vast majority of the earth’s inhabitants, the hardships accompanying these issues are painful, often-frightening, sometimes life-threatening realities. The fortunate few, insulated from such adversities, have the luxury of viewing them as abstractions. Most within this privileged minority don’t give these issues much thought, involved as they are in the demands of daily life and distracted by endless amusements. The rest of us, mindful of the potential for dangerous global escalation of economic and financial turbulence, violence and human suffering, seek to understand the past, explain the present and contribute positively to the outcome. If you belong to this minority within a minority, welcome to David L. Smith’s Cassandra Chronicles.

In the nuclear age, it is difficult to overstate the perils confronting the human race.

The Cassandra Chronicles is dedicated to stimulate “a new type of thinking.” Just as Albert Einstein transcended the boundaries of Newtonian physics to arrive at deeper truths about the universe, we must also “think outside the box” if we are nourish any hope of avoiding the “unparalleled catastrophes” Einstein perceived. The stakes are nothing less than survival of the human race. I can’t think of anything better to do. Can you?

Thinking “outside the box” necessarily means leaving behind (or at least questioning) long-held beliefs, examining the facts with fresh perspective, being willing to modify one’s opinions, challenging the conventional wisdom and arriving at new and unconventional conclusions derived from agreed-upon facts. In short, to think outside the box is to develop a “contrarian mindset.”

As a speaker and the author for 24 years of Cyclical Investing, a newsletter about the global economy, financial and energy markets, investments and government policy, I’ve had considerable practice in thinking outside the box. Invariably, I found that my most accurate predictions and profitable investment strategies resulted from adopting just such a contrarian mindset. It takes a certain amount of independence of mind, persistence, the courage of your convictions and a lot of practice. (As a mental tune-up, subscribers to the Cassandra Chronicles receive a complimentary copy of “The Contrarian Mindset, Key to Investment Success.”)

The Chronicles represent the logical extension of my 24 years of work on Cyclical Investing as a “contrarian chronicle of the times.” In the Chronicles, not only do I offer occasional analysis, commentary and forecasts encompassing the global economy and financial markets (though not detailed and time-sensitive investment strategies), but I also address the fascinating realms of government policy, geopolitics, military developments, political philosophy, religion and the grand sweep of history. These global issues are of vital interest to those of us concerned about the fate of humanity. By introducing new contrarian themes and solutions (with the hope that some day they will become the conventional wisdom) I hope to contribute, in some small way, to a favorable outcome, mindful of the following verse from William Wordsworth:

Enough, if something from our hands have power
To live, and act, and serve the future hour.

Is it presumptuous for "lay people," an “informed citizenry,” rather than Beltway politicians, policy wonks, media pundits and “think-tank experts,” to confront such daunting issues and expect to make a difference . . . to analyze the situation and positively affect the outcome in a significant way? Or perhaps Dustin Hoffman's savvy, cynical character in “Wag the Dog” was right when he quipped: "You know, you can't save the world; you can only try."

We may indeed be ill equipped to the task; but wasn’t “an informed citizenry” set up to be the foundation of a functional U.S. democracy? Who else is there? If we leave matters to those presently in charge, it will be business as usual, condemning us to repeat the past. Who, then?

Two popular slogans from the past come to mind: "If not now, when? If not you, who?" and "If it is to be, it is up to me." A lot of you's and me's makes a lot of us - a lot of us refusing to repeat the past; a lot of us committed to change, to ending the timeworn cycle of war and peace, to becoming part of the solution rather than remaining part of the problem.

Fortunately, the Internet has come along just in time, enabling public-minded citizens to become informed; to express and exchange views freely; to connect, unite and organize in common cause and thereby to exert political influence. I envision the community of Cassandra Chronicles subscribers linking up with other like-minded Internet opinion hubs to create a critical mass of informed, concerned and engaged public opinion capable of constructively swaying public policy, bypassing the conventional, establishment-dominated channels of information, communication, fund-raising and organization.

The Internet is essentially a global brain and each of us is the equivalent of a neuron connected to others via the “dendrites” and “axons” of the Web. Collectively, a large group of “neurons” can be organized into a “lobe” to perform a vital function. I’m in favor of Cassandra Chronicles subscribers becoming part of the “frontal lobe” associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions and, especially, problem solving. If that sounds good to you, c’mon aboard.

Democracy is about numbers. The Internet is the ultimate device for organizing large numbers of individuals committed to “a new type of thinking” into a coherent tidal wave of effective public opinion. For if we don't change our thinking drastically in large numbers, as Einstein urged, we may all perish. Those are the stakes. Let that sink in. At a time when available weaponry can snuff out human existence in a matter of days, not only should we try, we must succeed.

Deepen your understanding of the national and global effects of government policy; geopolitics; political, social and religious philosophy; economic, technological and energy developments; military events and the grand sweep of history.
Present likely “overview” scenarios from the U.S. and global perspectives that take into account valuable “lessons of history,” on the assumption that if we do remember the past we may avoid being condemned to repeat it, to rephrase Santayana.
To help you avoid surprises, anticipate dangers and find opportunities both at the “big picture” and personal levels.
To explore, develop and propose solutions to the world’s problems calculated to further the universal aspirations for peace, prosperity, order, human rights, and the survival of the human species.
To foster an online community of informed citizens to accomplish these aims. (Click here for Cassandra Chronicles Blog.)

It’s an ambitious undertaking with no guarantee of success, I know. It may even be Quixotic. Let me be clear: I don’t claim to have all the solutions. What I can offer is 24 years of focused experience observing, analyzing and forecasting the global economy, financial markets, government policies and world events from a contrarian perspective with what has been described as “uncanny accuracy.” (See:www.cyclical-investing.com and click here for my bio.) Accordingly, unlike many of our politicians today, I am firmly anchored in reality and not swayed by special interests. Moreover, I am committed, with the help of my subscribers, to finding as many solutions as possible in the time allotted to us.

Given the fluidity of the world situation, the quest for solutions must necessarily be a continuous work in progress. In the past 5 years, that work has consisted of 13 volumes of the Cassandra Chronicles on subjects ranging across a broad spectrum: the war in Iraq, lessons from the British invasion of Mesopotamia in World War I and the U.S. experience in Vietnam, Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations,” wars of religion as a source of the Constitutional “separation of church and state,” the U.S. income tax vs. a graduated national sales tax, America’s foreign debt and the resulting shift of financial power to U.S. creditors, “Peak Oil” and U.S. monetary and fiscal policy. (All of these will be made available online to subscribers. Click here for summaries (link in progress).)

You may wonder what my political principles are. Some of my subscribers are convinced I am a liberal, others are persuaded I am a conservative, others think I am a moderate. I think of myself as an independent “fair witness,” to borrow Robert Heinlein’s term. Basically I do not believe any political philosophy has a corner on the truth, nor is any approach optimal for all occasions. Consequently, I am inclined to support objectively whatever works, given the times and the circumstances, to further the universal aspirations for peace, prosperity, order, human rights, and the survival of the human species. I am also inclined to expose hypocrisy, mendacity and injustice from whatever political quadrant it comes. Like Tiger Woods, I aspire to play “straight up the middle.”

After reading the Cassandra Chronicles, with a little luck you will see the world differently, through a lens untinted by vested interests, media hype and the herd instincts of demon extrapolators reciting the conventional wisdom. The Cassandra Chronicles’ insight might just lead you to “the road less traveled by” and that could “make all the difference.” (With apologies to Robert Frost.)

David L. Smith’s Cassandra Chronicles is published once a quarter (with occasional interim updates if warranted by developments) and is distributed exclusively as an Adobe Reader pdf download from the Internet following notification by e-mail. In addition, I have set up a blog for the exchange of ideas among subscribers and myself: http://cassandra-chronicles.blogspot.com. Time and resources permitting, I will expand resources for subscribers to exchange ideas with webinars, podcasts, video conferences and a group website.

Mark Twain famously wrote: “Tell me whar a man gits his corn pone en I’ll tell you what his ‘pinions is.” In order to reassure my subscribers that my ‘pinions and lens remain “untinted by special interests,” I rely on annual subscriptions ranging from $50 to $200 from forward-thinking individuals sharing universal aspirations for peace, prosperity, order, human rights, and the survival of the human species. So if this sounds like you, and you are inclined “to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield,” I invite you to subscribe to David L. Smith’s Cassandra Chronicles.

To subscribe, click here for a subscription form in an Adobe Reader pdf file, or click here for the form in MSWord, or print the form below (page 7) and then Fax it to (214) 447-9249 or scan and attach the completed form to an e-mail to DavidLSmith@iname.com.

Previous issues of David L. Smith’s Cassandra Chronicles (available to subscribers) include: (Click on blue-highlighted title to view summary.)