Perceptions and Passages of a Lifelong Participant by Stephen G. Harding
I have spent my adult life a student of political science, public affairs, foreign policy, and governmental administration. Way past my undergraduate days of the 1960s and the confines of my long-term vocation in local government, I tried to keep up with contemporary lines of political, economic, and cultural thought. Twenty plus years behind the... Continue Reading →
What happened to his vision? This new America. This path so clearly marked. Was it just too hard to travel? Were we just too distracted? Too consumed with our own consumption? Too enamored with our own greatness to see ourselves as to who we truly were, as to who we truly are? After all, having... Continue Reading →
As described by Stanford University course instructor, Elliot Lavine: "Since the dawn of cinema, both the Hollywood and international film communities have concerned themselves with the harmonious continuation of time-honored democratic traditions. The 1930s and 1940s saw the world’s population nearly succumb to the devastating effects of a catastrophic global depression, the rise of a... Continue Reading →
Remembering on Veteran's Day This last Sunday, I watched on the CBS Sunday Morning show, Leslie Stahl interview David Nasaw. The subject, his latest book, "The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II. When he talked about his own father, he could have very well been talking about mine. For me, it was an... Continue Reading →
Every now and then, I delete my Linkedin account. It's deliberate. I just get irritated with a few of the members of my own local government network. The platform has evolved away from what I would think, its original intent. For many, Linkedin has developed into an over the top self-promotional treadmill, a sounding board... Continue Reading →
One of the great things about aging is still having the time to appreciate how well one's, very much, adult children are doing. Both are accomplished professionals. Both are caring and loving parents. We, as their parents, still think of ourselves as stewards, stepping in when needed. We've been very very fortunate in sharing in... Continue Reading →
America's Cup 1988. The year Dennis Connor broke convention and sailed his multi-hull catamaran in the finals against Sr. Michael Fay's KZ-1. Although I had been a long-time fan of the event, this one was of personal interest. Through a business relationship, I knew Dennis. Our corporation, the City of San Diego Southeast Economic Development... Continue Reading →
Finding the Bureaucracy's Civic Responsibility Nearly a decade ago, I presented a TED talk at the annual conference of the Municipal Management Association of Southern California (MMASC). I had been a retired practitioner for a year but continued on as an adjunct with three separate master of public administration/public policy programs. Just prior to this... Continue Reading →
By Stephen G. Harding It has been 24 years since 9-11, our contemporary day of infamy. As if watching a B movie on some vintage cable channel, we witnessed commercial airliners disappear into the glass reflections of New York’s twin towers. Midst the chaos, a smothering wave of debris, and the successive collapse of the... Continue Reading →
Time Flies When You're Having Fun The Fall 2025 quarter marked the beginning of my tenth academic year as an instructor with the University of California, Riverside, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Here at UCR, my last course, "In the Footsteps of Vichy France: Lessons for Contemporary America" was my 37th offering in 23 different subject areas. For... Continue Reading →