Condoleezza Rice, Ph.D., former U.S. secretary of state, discussed international and domestic policy during a moderated discussion in Michael J. Hagan ’85 Arena on Sept.11.
Philip Zelikow, former executive director of the 9/11 commission, joined Rice for the conversation that was hosted by the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, an organization that provides non profit and non partisan educational activities for all ages.
Rice said the current division in U.S. politics may endanger the country’s future stability.
“When asked what keeps me up at night, it’s not the Iranians, it’s not the North Koreans, it’s us,” Rice said.
A main point of discussion between Rice and Zelikow was that many of the audience members were too young to have a lived experience of 9/11, which occurred 18 years ago.
“You didn’t have an option after 9/11 to decide if you were going to focus on that problem,” Rice said. “Anyone here who is old enough to remember what America felt like after 9/11 knows there was no choice, America was at war.”
Hayley Boyle, vice president of programs at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, also said it is important to give context to students who were young when 9/11 happened.
“It is still affecting the world we live in today,” Boyle said. “To have someone like her on stage is really important.”
Chelsea Smith ’20 said it was inspiring to hear how Rice handled national crises as secretary of state.
“It’s always nice to hear people talk about how we can build a better future peacefully,” Smith said. “I think that’s a narrative we don’t hear as often.”
Zelikow, Rice’s co-author on her upcoming novel “To Build A Better World: Choices To End The Cold War And Create A Global Commonwealth,” said their book aims to continue to give Americans hope about their country’s future, especially after the 2016 elections.
“We wrote our book because America is drifting into another time of grave systemic crisis in the world,” Zelikow said. “If you read that book, it is a story where things work out really well for America.”
Rice said she believes the biggest threat to the U.S. is the polarization of the country’s politics.
“We do have a problem and it seems exacerbated by the fact that the common American narrative, which was, it doesn’t matter where you came from or how, that is being lost,” Rice said. “It’s being replaced by the politics of grievance.”
Lisa Baglione, Ph.D., professor of political science, uses Rice’s book, “Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom,” as reading material in her courses. Baglione said a great secretary of state will uphold America’s values.
“As the head diplomat, the secretary of state has the responsibility to take advantage of all of the wonderful sources that she or he has at his disposal, the experts,” Baglione said.
Smith said having a prominent female politician on campus was inspiring.
“That inspires me as an international relations student that I could be on that stage someday and to have learned from things she said,” Smith said.
