Allow me to Introduce Myself

The great folks at Steemit suggest that everyone who joins the community introduce themselves so that others may know just whom it is they are dealing with. Well, every time I have been asked to write up a short bio on myself, I cringe a little. I never know how to start or what to say. I especially dislike writing about myself in the third person. Curricula Vitae in the science fields, which are what I’m most accustomed to, are much more concise and simple. They are terse, get to the point quickly and are more an attempt to show your colleagues that you are more knowledgeable than they are while trying to remain humble. If the truth were known, the humility is more often as false as the superior knowledge. The ‘Liberal Arts’ fields are somewhat different. Here, the more specialized one’s concentration is, the less colleagues one has to contend with. It’s like the old saying goes - they learn more and more about less and less until they eventually know a lot about nothing! Their specialization becomes so small that it is occupied by a single, lonely person. I can’t imagine what my own embarrassment would be if I were the holder of a Ph.D. in English Literature and had to include my thesis title as,” Chaucer’s Use of the Semicolon in the ‘Canterbury Tales’” in the hope of securing that department chair post at the community college. Lord help me; I’d rather slash my wrists! In any case, I suppose I should get to the objective of this post.

(It only took me one paragraph to identify myself!)

My name is Dr. Thomas V. Giordano. I did not choose to be born in Philadelphia, but I was. I did not choose to grow up in Southern New Jersey, but I did. Some things in life are just thrust upon us, I guess, but I have no regrets regarding where I was born and where I grew up. In fact, the farther away I am, the more I love both places! As a kid, every time I passed the Independence Hall I could hear the echoes of the Founding Fathers saying, “See, we told you we could do it!” and then the words of Dr. Franklin saying,” If you can keep it, Madam!”. I learned to be proud to have been born in the same city that gave birth to our federal republic. As a young boy running barefoot along the Gravelly Run and the Otter Brook in the woods near my home in Jersey, I developed a great appreciation for all life forms and their interplay, which led me to studying Zoology at Rutgers University’s Newark College of Arts and Sciences. Additionally, it was at Rutgers that my parasitology professor suggested that I study Chiropractic. As she told me, “You’ll have all of the advantages of being a doctor with none of the disadvantages.” I took her advice, weighed my options and upon graduation from Rutgers, was accepted at PCSC in Philadelphia, where I was trained as a Chiropractic Physician. There were many who advised me against becoming a Doctor of Chiropractic, claiming that “they’re not real doctors”. I just smiled and walked away; my diploma reads otherwise. However, I guess if being a “real doctor” is defined by having the ability to sign a death certificate, then I suppose I’d agree.

Balancing the things that you can’t choose in life with those that you can choose will always lead you to your destiny. While finishing my undergraduate degree, I met the girl who would eventually become my wife. She came from Italy to visit some of her family and we met. We were married two years later while I was in my first year of Chiropractic college. Upon graduating, passing my board exams and the Pennsylvania licensing exam, we moved to her hometown in Italy. I’ve been in active practice here for 30 years, with only a few stints back in the States. We now have two daughters in their twenties who are at university.

During the three times I returned home to Jersey for extended periods, I had the opportunity to lecture as an Adjunct Professor in various subjects at my alma mater and at Camden County College, at both the Blackwood Campus and the Rutgers University - Camden Campus. The material included Diagnostic Sciences and Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II. I didn’t think that I would enjoy it as much as I did. My professional career was intended to be clinical rather than academic, but it was fun. I have always made it a point to explore new opportunities related to my fields of expertise and this has led me to participate as a lecturer in various Continuing Medical Education Seminars for the medical profession here in Italy as well as engaging in weekly television appearances locally.

As far as my editorial experience, I was honored to be appointed as a Contributing Editor to three international, peer-reviewed, Index Medicus journals dealing with Immunopathology and Pharmacology, Inflammation and Osteology. I did this for well over ten years and it was a big-time assignment for a chiropractor! However, to be honest, after what seems a life-time of seeing patients, practitioners of every profession become tired. One gets to the point where the excitement of diagnosing and treating patients fades into tedium. When one has seen everything there is to see, the challenges become fewer and fewer. Don’t get me wrong; I never considered what I do to be real work, but I once made myself the promise that if it ever did become work, I’d quit. This may seem self-serving, but, believe me, it comes from a deep concern for the patient and fulfilling the mission. Over my career, I have never harmed a patient, either during treatment or by omission, and I wouldn’t want to end my clinical practice by doing just that because of a lack of enthusiasm and fatigue. “Primum non nuocere!” is a fundamental principle in every healthcare field and it has been my observation that a doctor’s reputation is only as good as their last patient’s treatment outcome.

So, now that you know more about me than you probably wanted to know, let me tell you what my interests are and why I’m here.

I can say without any reservation that the person who has had the greatest influence upon me was my father, Mario John Giordano. He is no longer with us, but he left a profound impression upon my personal and intellectual development. He was a professor of Business Administration and the Business Department Chairperson at Camden County College. I can also say that he was the first person I have ever known that could be called a libertarian, even before anyone knew what a libertarian was. He would have defined himself as a Jeffersonian or Classical Liberal, if forced to.

My Dad’s first mission with me was to teach me how to learn. He instructed me and my brothers with easy methods for learning subjects quickly at an increased retention. His second mission was to guide my reading. It was he who introduced me to the Greek and Roman Philosophers, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, Adam Smith, Frederic Bastiat, Ludwig Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman and, of course, the writings of our founding fathers. My instruction began at the age of eight and continued well into my thirties. He wanted me to recognize, and counter, the socialist propaganda and dogma that was becoming ever-present in the United States during my childhood and adolescence with rational, liberty-minded principles and this is the way he did it.

(By the way, he compiled a book on those learning methods back in the mid-1970’s and my brothers and I have reintroduced it through the Amazon Kindle Store. We were pleased to see it shoot to the Number 1 Best Seller in two categories the UK market, where it remained for more than two years. In the U.S. market, it has done fairly, but nowhere near the demand in England and Italy. It is called,” How to Study and Master Any Subject -Quickly!” Here is the link to the U.S. market, if you want to check it out: www.amazon.com/dp/B00YJCZ71W. So much for the bald-faced plug, but it really does contain some interesting learning methods.)

So, returning to that list of authors, it is easy to see where my interests lie – Free Market Economics, Liberty and Government. Actually, at this point in my life, I spend more time studying and writing on these than I do on healthcare related subjects, though I still read several scientific articles a month.

So, now you know who I am and where my interests lie. Now; why am I here?

Well, I like the concept of this platform and its objectives and the idea of mixing it up by creating content and commenting on posts from like-minded people appeals to me. I also like the anarchocapitalistic notions behind cryptocurrencies. In accordance with my libertarian views, rights are not subject to conditions. If they were, they’d merely be privileges. Taking the freedom of speech out of the hands of those who could potentially shut down internet access is highly desirable. As I inferred previously, there are many things that are beyond our control and we just have to accept and live with them. There are, however, many things that are within our control and are the direct result of our choices. It is my sincere hope that this choice will be fruitful. I’m looking forward to contributing!