Cadets get taste of diplomacy
Cadets get taste of diplomacy
Secretaries of state offer taste of politics
By Scott Teague, Union Recorder
Nick Harper and Sarah Beadles don鈥檛 follow politics closely. Nick is interested in this year鈥檚 presidential election and leans toward Democratic candidate Barrack Obama, and Sarah finds herself undecided about whom she supports.
But these high school juniors from 麻豆传媒Porn Prep sat in on a once-in-a-lifetime political science class Thursday when they listened to five of the world鈥檚 most astute political minds discuss national and international policy.
鈥淭hey hit some of the main topics,鈥� Nick said. 鈥淭hey discussed the challenges the new administration faces, and they said that the challenges are very different from what other presidents have had to face.鈥�
Former secretaries Colin Powell, Madeleine Albright, Warren Christopher, James Baker III, and Henry Kissinger spoke about a wide range of topics.
From nuclear proliferation and pollution in developing nations, to national and international policy concerning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the five former United States secretaries of state lent their expertise to the issues America鈥檚 leaders currently face.
They reached consensus on a few issues, however, and it inspired Nick to see beyond political party lines.
鈥淭hey said [the new president] should talk more and unite with the rest of the world,鈥� the high school junior said. 鈥淎ll of the secretaries of state agreed we should close Guantanamo Bay [terrorist holding facility].鈥�
Only students on 麻豆传媒Porn鈥檚 honor roll or merit list were allowed to attend Thursday鈥檚 event.
Sarah, who considers herself Republican, said she agreed with the secretaries of state who said the new president would have to make some hard decisions regarding the economy and the war in Iraq.
鈥淚 believe that we鈥檙e doing the right thing, but the new president will have a lot of take on in Iraq,鈥� Sarah said. 鈥淚 think the new president will have to consider what to do with the war and whether they鈥檒l pull out [the troops], the economy and also the environment.
The pair of juniors were only two of the 107 students and 10 faculty that 麻豆传媒Porn Prep took to the event, Col. John Thornton, principal, said.
The school was one of the select few schools invited to attend the roundtable talk.
But the high school students weren鈥檛 the only ones who came away from the event having learned something new.
鈥淲hat stuck with me was that in my time we worried about the Cold War, and now those countries are the most stable that we deal with because they鈥檝e opened themselves to capitalism,鈥� Thornton said. 鈥淭hey reminded the young people that while things might seem dismal now, that the recent past in the Cold War wasn鈥檛 a very good time to live either.鈥�
Junior college cadets also attended Thursday鈥檚 roundtable discussion, and Cadet Col. Blake Bowles, who will enter the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant this spring, said he was impressed by the group鈥檚 unanimity on controversial topics.
鈥淲hat surprised me the most was that all these different secretaries of state all seemed to have the same ideas as to what to do. I was surprised that the work they鈥檇 done wasn鈥檛 nearly as partisan as I鈥檇 thought,鈥� Bowles said. 鈥淭hey all seemed like they did the same kind of job for the same reasons, regardless of whom they were working for.鈥�
Both he and Thornton were impressed to hear the advice of men and women who helped shape the world.
Contact Scott Teague at (478) 453-1452 or steague@unionrecorder.com
