Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Fri, Apr 06 2007
Could Nancy Pelosi's political faux pas open doors? Then so be it
There's a lot of commenting going on about Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Syria. I've read and heard a lot of the statements, both pro and con, about her trip. I did catch sight of two things that were new information to me this morning. CNN.com included them on its site in a piece by Dugald McConnell. I hadn't realized that Jimmy Carter had wanted to visit Syria (but was told not to) and I hadn't realized that Ms. Pelosi was the highest-ranking official to meet with a Syrian president since 1994.
It would be interesting to do some research to see where our high-ranking officials travel over a number of years. I wonder what other countries have, or have not, merited a visit by someone from our executive branch (or other high-ranking office). And I wonder how often influential people try, but are discouraged from, negotiating with countries we're considered to be at odds with. I don't pretend to know all the reasons behind state department tactics. And I'm not so naive as to think that everything Nancy Pelosi said was necessarily made public through the press. But the silent treatment doesn't seem to be working very well for a lot of our current policy on foreign relations. Maybe a little unofficial schmoozing and polite acknowledgement isn't the worst thing in the world, if it raises dignity on both sides. It could provide hope for a chance at making the world a little nicer place for a few more years.
Peace, for me, is more than just a lack of all-out physical war. I wonder if anyone else, like me, dares to hope for peace to feel like more than just the silent tension of long-lasting stand-offs.
posted at: 10:31 | category: /Politics | link to this entry
There's a lot of commenting going on about Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Syria. I've read and heard a lot of the statements, both pro and con, about her trip. I did catch sight of two things that were new information to me this morning. CNN.com included them on its site in a piece by Dugald McConnell. I hadn't realized that Jimmy Carter had wanted to visit Syria (but was told not to) and I hadn't realized that Ms. Pelosi was the highest-ranking official to meet with a Syrian president since 1994.
It would be interesting to do some research to see where our high-ranking officials travel over a number of years. I wonder what other countries have, or have not, merited a visit by someone from our executive branch (or other high-ranking office). And I wonder how often influential people try, but are discouraged from, negotiating with countries we're considered to be at odds with. I don't pretend to know all the reasons behind state department tactics. And I'm not so naive as to think that everything Nancy Pelosi said was necessarily made public through the press. But the silent treatment doesn't seem to be working very well for a lot of our current policy on foreign relations. Maybe a little unofficial schmoozing and polite acknowledgement isn't the worst thing in the world, if it raises dignity on both sides. It could provide hope for a chance at making the world a little nicer place for a few more years.
Peace, for me, is more than just a lack of all-out physical war. I wonder if anyone else, like me, dares to hope for peace to feel like more than just the silent tension of long-lasting stand-offs.
posted at: 10:31 | category: /Politics | link to this entry
