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John Graham shipped out on a freighter when he was sixteen, took part in the first ascent of Mt. McKinley's North Wall at twenty, and hitchhiked around the world at twenty-two.
A Foreign Service Officer for fifteen years, he was in the middle of the revolution in Libya and the war in Vietnam. For three years in the mid-seventies, he was a member of NATO's top-secret Nuclear Planning Group, then served as a foreign policy advisor to Senator John Glenn. At the United Nations, he was deeply involved in U.S. initiatives in Southern Africa, South Asia and Cuba.
Since 1983 Graham has been a leader of the Giraffe Heroes Project, an international organization moving people to stick their necks out for the common good. A familiar keynote speaker, he's done TV and radio all over the world. He's the author of Outdoor Leadership and Stick Your Neck Out-A Street-smart Guide to Creating Change in Your Community and Beyond. His memoir, Sit Down Young Stranger, was published in January.
Graham walks his talk, including today as an international peacemaker, active in the Middle East and Africa.
He has a degree in geology from Harvard and one in engineering from Stanford, neither of which he ever expects to use
Monday, November 14, 2011 Goodbye Tibet? (5 comments)
For ten days last month I saw first-hand what the Chinese are doing in Tibet. The reports you've heard of cultural genocide are true. China is obliterating the ideas, traditions and habits of the Tibetan people. Do we care? We'd better. China's confidence increases with each step onto the world stage. What the Chinese are doing in Tibet tells us a lot about what we can expect from them as their power grows.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 America Divided (1 comments)
Watching the sandbox antics in Washington you donÕt know whether to laugh or cry. Why are we unable to build a future together even as the toxic consequences of our divisions become more apparent by the day? We need to change whatÕs in our minds but above all we need to change whatÕs in our hearts. Na•ve? WhatÕs na•ve is expecting that we can keep on our present bitter course and cope with the challenges bearing down on us.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 What Will Qaddhafi Do? (1 comments)
In September 1969, as a young diplomat in Libya, I wrote the first biographic sketch of the country's new leader, Muammar Qaddhafi. Nobody then knew who he was. Of most importance to what's going on in Libya today, however, it was clear that the man was strong-willed, charismatic and mercurial, with a deep resentment of injustice wherever he found it. If Qaddhafi goes quietly into exile, I will be very surprised. I see it as e
Friday, November 12, 2010 Boys into Men (2 comments)
John Graham went to war for the adventure of it and calls himself a fool for that. But he was hardly alone. Every war has recruited eager young men looking for adventure, seeking to prove their worth as men. And every war has left behind the wreckage that these young men did not foresee or chose to ignore. We need to find way to initiate our boys into manhood without sending them to war.
Thursday, August 12, 2010 Stephen Slater, Baseball, and the Anger of America (1 comments)
The reasons why Americans are angry are pretty obvious. What the public reaction to Steven Slater's adventure showed was just HOW angry we are. So do we just keep looking for others to take that anger out on? Where will that get us? More Tea Parties? There are other options.
Sunday, October 18, 2009 Afghanistan—Winning Lessons from Vietnam (4 comments)
The Karzai government seems eerily reminiscent of the corrupt, incompetent regime of Nguyen van Thieu in Vietnam 40 years ago. The US must push hard for a government in Kabul that enjoys broad popular support. If that kind of government can't be found, then we should get out, focus on Pakistan and leave enough military might in the region to prevent Al-Queda from using Afghanistan/Pakistan as a base to attack us.
Thursday, July 30, 2009 How Do We Be Safe?
The Caux Forum for Human Security, recently concluded in Switzerland, provided important new perspectives. By emphasizing the link between personal and political change, and by broadening the definition of human security to include freedom from poverty and injustice, the Forum suggests a wise and practical template for solving public problems.
Thursday, July 9, 2009 The Health Care We Deserve (1 comments)
The country is finally beginning to address health care reform in a meaningful way, in what could well be the most important domestic policy debate since the New Deal. Here's what's at stake.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 When the Lights Went On (2 comments)
The events that caused this economic collapse were failures not just of politics and governance, but of culture. They were the inevitable consequences of our nation and its leadership losing any operating concept of the common good.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009 Pirates and Poverty (4 comments)
Killing the Somali pirates was a short term victory, not a long term solution to the security problems that plague us in the 21st century. It's not enough to hunt down pirates (and terrorists), so long as the conditions that breed them continue to exist.
Monday, February 2, 2009 Stimulating (2 comments)
Both Democrats and Republicans agree that the massive package now before Congress should contain short-term measures, such as tax cuts and unemployment benefits, meant to immediately pump cash into the economy. The debate is whether the package should also include longer-term job-creating investments in key sectors such as health care, energy, transportation and education.
Sunday, November 16, 2008 Obama Rocks Abuja
I was in Nigeria when CNN announced that Barack Obama had won the Presidency. The country--and indeed the entire developing world--erupted in joy, and not just because of the color of Obama's skin.
Thursday, September 25, 2008 Why the Bailout is a Bandaid (1 comments)
The bailout package that Congress is now posed to pass is skin deep. Similar problems will emerge unless we go deeper. Here's why.
Monday, July 28, 2008 Ich Bin Ein Kansan
In Berlin, Obama reminded his audience of the dangers of living in a splintered world. International challenges will not be met unless nations and peoples learn to work together as inhabitants of a crowded, interconnected planet.
Saturday, March 29, 2008 Obama's Speech and Me (5 comments)
Author/activist John Graham looks at race in a new way after Obama's speech.
Sunday, November 11, 2007 Watch List Update
've been on the Watch List for 30 months. It's quite possible that, like the four-year old children and 89-year-old nuns who are also on the List, it might be a case of mistaken identity. Then again, as President of the Giraffe Heroes Project, author of Stick Your Neck Out, and vocal critic of the Iraq war, I may be exactly the person the Feds mean to hassle.
