By Emily Giegerich
Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright discussed the need for international education in the changing world and praised Elon University as well as President Barack Obama for taking positive strides toward filling this need.
Albright was the featured speaker for Elon University’s Spring Convocation for Honors in Alumni Gym Tuesday afternoon.
As Albright discussed her college experience in the late 1950s, the drastic social, political and economic changes that have occurred in the past 60 years became extremely evident.
“The world then was different; the pace not so fast,” Albright said. “[It] was a time of relative innocence. The world was divided in ways that everyone understood.”
Albright said that in her days there were clear distinctions between good and bad, political leaders were respected, people had faith in the future and there was a strong belief things could only get better. Most would agree that today, she said, such beliefs are far-gone.
Albright said she credits these changing perceptions, as well as the weakening of the United Nations and other multilateral organizations and the tarnished credibility of the United States, to the lack of international education. Albright said she believes that without a place in education for international matters, the changing world is struggling.
Although Albright praised Elon for being a great example of the good that education can do, she said she believes that Elon may be an exception because in certain cases education is playing a negative role.
“Many young people are taught to see the modern world as hostile to their values and dangerous to their faith,” Albright said. “[They] believe that honor can only be won be re-fighting old battles and that the globe is divided between ‘us and them.’ Many millions more are barely educated at all.”
Even though Albright acknowledged the undeniable strides the United States has made in mathematics and the sciences, in regards to global politics she’s “not sure we are any smarter now than we have ever been.”
To increase a broader knowledge of politics, Albright said she believes international learning is key, yet it is more absent in the U.S. government than one may imagine.
“When I was secretary of state, I encountered members of Congress who boasted that they did not own a passport and never ventured outside the United States,” Albright said. “The chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations at the time said there was nothing to be learned from traveling overseas.”
Albright said she strongly disagrees with this sentiment. During her years in government she made it a point to promote awareness of international relations in public schools and applauded Elon for the encouragement the university gives to study abroad programs.
“The university knows that graduates will be in a far better position to compete in the global economy if they are comfortable in the international setting,” she said.
Albright also said she believes President Obama is helping fill the absence of international education within the government despite the great perils he has inherited – perils such as the economic crisis, th
e wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, confrontation with al Qaeda, the presence of nuclear weapons, genocide in Darfur, energy and pollution concerns and overall evils such as poverty, ignorance and disease.
“The president has only been in office for 10 weeks but I think he has already done several smart things,” Albright said.
Albright praised Obama for four major steps he has taken thus far: assembling a strong and experienced national security team, offering an open hand to every country while maintaining tough policies where required, sending top diplomats across the globe to listen, learn and find opportunities and taking steps to restore America’s environmental and international reputation, all while being careful not to raise American expectations too high.
Although she has managed to reconnect with one of the ideals of her time – optimism about the future – Albright said it is important to be aware that international education is the solution to every problem.
“It will not abolish war, cure climate change, or enable our economy to rise like a phoenix overnight,” Albright said. “But it will help us all to learn more about those with whom we share life on this fragile globe.”
