The problem with many academic types is that they fail to connect. This makes their knowledge and values irrelevant to the running of the world. So then people decide such things as that academics have no common sense or that they don’t live in reality. This leads them to militate against and defund the academia. And that makes it very hard for the academics to do their job of pursuing knowledge and educating people.

Clinton was able to connect; Dukakis was not. Dukakis is regarded as one of the biggest losers in history. Whereas Clinton, for all his personal flaws, was a highly successful president.

Beck wrote, “how can you write if you can’t relate?” I have put in a vast effort into relating to all sorts of people, including people – such as the so-called “rednecks” – with whom someone of my demographic would not be expected to have anything to do at all. I recommend for other intellectual types to do the same. That way they would be able to understand the people whom they are dealing with, and they will be able to deal with them more effectively. And they would also be able to teach their students how to relate to such people as well.

One part of academic education is doing away with bias. What is created though is a bias of its own. Many of these people believe that there is no such thing as spiritual and religious experience, and they discard a vast body of wisdom contained in religion and spirituality. This impoverishes their understanding of the world. There is a lot of wisdom in the world’s religions, and the correct solution is not dismissing them but seeing what they have to teach.

I have done this with Hindu and Buddhist mysticism, with Taoism, with paganism and astrology, and with Christianity. Probably the only major religion that I never seriously considered is Islam, and that is largely because of the behaviour of its followers. However I read the Koran, and I also read Gibran, Omar Khayum and Rumi. There is a lot of wisdom in these people’s works. I do not credit this wisdom to Islam. I credit it to the talent of Middle Eastern people. The Middle Eastern people were good at such things both before and after Islam; and there were many pre-Islamic works in the region – such as the Epic of Gilgamesh – that were both brilliant and wise.

Pythagoras said, “Give me a place to stand, and I will move the world.” The people who possess a lever need to find a place to stand. They need to connect with the people. And then they can make their superior knowledge count in the world.

On this much stands to be learned from Clinton. He had an education from Oxford; he also could relate to people. This made it possible for him to explain to people complex concepts that they otherwise would not have understood. The result was one of the most benevolent presidencies of all time, in which 23 million jobs were created and the budget was brought into balance. If you have valuable ideas, learn from Clinton. And then you will be able to make your knowledge count in the world.