5 Questions

Bill Clinton came to town and spoke as part of KSU's Landon lecture series. I didn't manage to get tickets, but it was well worth listening to on the Internet. The main part of his talk was designed to present people with a framework for thinking about world events. Here are the magic questions:

1. What is the fundamental nature of the 21st century world?
2. Is it a good or a bad thing?
3. How should we try to change the world?
4. How would you do that?
5. Who is supposed to do all this?

And the answers were:

1. Interdependence
2. Good and Bad. AIDS, cholera, dysentery, and diarrhea still kill 1/4 of all people. Need to work on that.
3. Integration. Shared opportunity, shared responsibility, and a sense of belonging.
4. With a security policy, diplomacy strategy, and and strategy to make a world with fewer terrorists.
5. We all are.

G. W. Bush came and talked less than a year ago, and it was interesting to compare the two talks. Clinton seemed a little bit more adversarial than I was expecting and Bush was surprisingly relaxed. I think Kansas must have a reputation.