Well, I guess I didn’t get lost in the chaos on the metro today (Thank goodness!). Anywho, we started our morning session listening to speakers David O’Connor, Marc Pachter, Cal Thomas, and Bob Beckel. Mr. O’Connor is a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service. His presentation highlighted the early years of the Service, and what today’s agents are responsible for. Mr. Pachter is the Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and National Museum of American History. The slide show offered different portrayals of the past presidents, using heroification in many in order to depict the man as someone greater than he truly was.
The lecture of Mr. Thomas, a Republican, and Mr. Beckel, a Democrat, was the highlight of the morning session. The two Columnists for USA Today alternated speaking, both focusing on the idea of finding common ground between opposing political parties. Their projected concept is crucial throughout the upcoming presidential term and beyond. We need to recognize that we are Americans first, and foremost, and that party boundaries need to be crossed to improve our current government.
Later in the day, we visited the nonprofit lobbyist organization, NORML. They are working to legalize the use of cannabis, better known as marijuana. I knew that there were groups whose aim was this type of reform, and I found it insightful to listen and learn where they were coming from. Although I personally disagree with the goal of the group, I enjoyed hearing how passionate these advocates were about this cause.
Tomorrow should be exciting. Our morning session is going to be turned into the set of C-SPAN. Yep, tune in to your television as the show will be live from 9 to 10 am. They’ll also be taping their Q&A session to be aired later in the week. I can’t wait!
