Phil Goff, Katrina, and Monday evening

I forgot to mention in my last post that the honorable Phil Goff came and spoke to my POLS 244 class last Thursday. Phil Goff is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade as well as the foreign affairs and judicial spokesperson for the Labour party. His equivalent in the United States government is Condoleeza Rice, so having him speak was a big deal. I think it says something about the closeness of the government to the people that he came and spoke with our class. You would be hard pressed to get Ms. Rice in a college lecture hall two weeks before the national election, I think. Now, Mr. Goff didn't say anything incredibly spectacular. He spent half his time presenting Labour's foreign affairs viewpoint and half the time discounting National's foreign affairs viewpoint. (As it is so close to the election, you can't imagine he would stop campaigning for a minute, especially not in front of a roomful of legal voters.) While he didn't say anything earth-shattering, like the United States is responsible for all the world's problems, he did strike me as a very personable person. He had an easy manner of speaking and was willing to take questions past his time allotment. Of course, he is a spokesperson for the Labour party, so his foreign affairs views were, while not quite anti-American, definately against America. Even with this dissenting viewpoint from my own, I still came away with a good impression of Mr. Goff, and I think that speaks well for his charisma.

I am on the other side of the world, but that doesn't mean I don't keep up with the news back home. Everyone needs to send their thoughts and prayers to the Gulf Coast region. What has happened in Katrina's wake is astonishing. It is in all of the papers here, it is the top stories in online news, and it is still taking up the first half of the World section of the local post every day. It is ridiculous that the most powerful country in the world was so unprepared for a disaster like this. It had to happen sometime. There should have been plans for New Orleans being flooded to the extent that it has been, there should have been evacuation plans, there should have been a lot of things.

Hindsight is 20-20, though. No one expected Katrina to hit as hard as she did, especially after causing minimal damage in Florida. Everything was wiped out, meaning that supplies and reinforcements had to come from neighboring cities and states, and there was not likely to be protocol in these situations. It took a while to realize the extent of the damage because the true damage didn't happen until at least 24 hours after Katrina passed by (with the levees breaking in New Orleans). It is still unexcusable to have so many people trapped in such filth with no easy way out.

Now that I have said my peace about that, it brings me into another topic, one I didn't ever anticipate. I was expecting to encounter anti-Americanism and was even 'trained' to specifically deal with anti-Bush sentiments before leaving for my year abroad. I knew I was going to be in debate situations about American policies. I am discovering, though, that it is more complicated than I thought. I have no problems in defending American policies that I believe in. I always knew I was conservative, but I am learning exactly how conservative and how much of a realist I am while I listen to myself in debates. The problems come when I disagree with American policies. When around non-Americans, I feel uneasy about dissing American (for lack of a better term). For example, when I criticize the US government's efforts in hurricane relief, I feel as if it opens the channels for more American criticism. "Oh, the American is criticizing America, it must be OK for me to do it, too." I feel uneasy when I criticize American policies, as if I should always be defending what happens. I am not sure if I would feel this way if a Democrat was the president. Am I uneasy about criticizing not only because I am outside the United States but also because I am a conservative as well? Food for thought, and something I will be working on while in New Zealand.

I got to go to my host Rotary club tonight. Mark picked me up about 6 and we drove out to Eastbourne for the 6:30 meeting. The speaker was very intellectual. He discussed science, religion, evolution, creationism, and how they all fit together. It was a bit hard to follow and a lot deeper than I was anticipating. The speaker was very thoughtful, though, and presented his ideas well, so it was easier to follow his speech. There were some intriguing questions asked afterwards as well. A small debate was begun, almost. All in all, an exciting Rotary club meeting. Mark drove me home afterwards, and I got home in time to catch the second half of Desperate Housewives. There are always several people in my flat watching it, so it makes for a fun Monday evening. I feel like I have such power because I already know everything that happens, so I can answer questions and generally just be the all-knowing person in the room. Lots of fun.

Now, it is getting late, and I still have work to do tonight. Test and project this week!