Hey everyone! So, first full day in DC, and I’m absolutely exhausted. The morning was spent at the University of DC auditorium. Here, we heard from prominent speakers including Dana Bash, the Senior Congressional Correspondent for CNN, Dr. Michael Genovese, the Scholar in Residence for our program, and Steve Bell, a former news anchor on ABC and an award winning journalist who has covered major events such as the Vietnam War, and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. I really enjoyed that much of the time was allotted to students to ask questions of these presenters.
The focus of today’s lecture was the idea of public profiles of government officials that are, often times, blown out of proportion by the media. Citizens begin to see these people as celebrities, rather than as policymakers and enforcers. Sarah Palin, for a most obvious example, was seen more for her verve than her background, as she became an overnight sensation to the American people.
Later in the day we had taken a bus tour to a plethora of famous sites around the city. Visiting the Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln Monuments, and the memorials of FDR, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and WWII proved for simply breathtaking photos. Having finally visited these principal spots in our nation’s capital, I begin to truly value the sacrifices that people have made so that we may live as freely as we do.
As for tomorrow’s activities, I’m really anticipating the “Common Ground” lecture from Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel. I’m hoping that the winds aren’t nearly as frigid as they were this afternoon; it felt like I was back in Buffalo (without all of the snow, thankfully), and that my camera doesn’t die in the middle of taking some fabulous pictures.
