A friend of the school's Dede, gave the school 4 tickets to go to an event at the national cathedral. The names were drawn at random and I got it!!! Today was the event. It was a panel discussion with George W. Bush's Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, Obama's Senior Advisor David Axelrod, and it was moderated by Bob Schieffer from CBS News! Other people who talked were Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss, the United States Senate Chaplain and Senator Susan Collins. They were all amazing and talked about modern day civility in congress. Civility isn't what it used to be. Many Republicans will not even sit in the same room as democrats, and vice-versa. They are stuck to their partisan sides for the most part. During the panel discussion, Bob asked the 2 guys about their opinions on issues about congressional civility. They both think that there can be civility, but the internet makes it harder because of rumors and things taken out of context. The internet was key to arguments on why there is so much less civility now. But there's still hope. The Senate Chaplain talked about how every week when congress is in session, congressmen from both sides come to bible study and services, and show respect for one another. Alot of the things that were talked about had to do with "getting to yes," a book we're reading in English. When 1 side isn't involved in a negotiation and making a solution, they resent it and it won't work, no matter how good it may be. The process is the product. This happens in Congress. Democrats will leave Republicans out of decisions which leads to resentment by the republicans.
The event lasted about 2 hours. After it was over, we went to the front and talked with Dede for a while. Then I CHASED (literally) Sen. Susan Collins because I was dying to meet her! Maybe I was a little sketchy about it but I got to meet her and talk to her! :) She's amazing, I really like her. She's in the news alot so when I saw here I was kind of awestruck. She's known for straddling the partisan lines. Even though she's a Republican, she doesn't always vote Republican and gets some bad attention for it, but also good attention. I personally admire her for being able to stand against her party for what she believes in, like the repeal of "Don't ask, Don't tell" where she was the only Republican on her committee who voted to repeal it. She was named by Oprah Magazine one of 6 women that could run for President.
Overall, the night was amazing. The event was awesome (even tho I wish it lasted longer) and we had alot of fun :)
No comments:
Post a Comment