combating illiteracy
one meeting at a time
I write to celebrate a particular group of local organisations today which are much more essential to us than we often realise: World Affairs Councils. Built from the Foreign Policy Association, these membership, dues-paying organisations foster civil literacy in a country awash in global and domestic illiteracy. I consider this illiteracy, a term I chose deliberately, truly one of the most painful and avoidable issues of our time.
World Affairs Councils, constituted by the local interested populations in cities small, medium, and large in this country, facilitate a number of programs we should not take for granted. These programs include local, well-announced meetings with experts on various timely topics while also projecting into absolutely vital topics not yet on our radar screens. The Councils support students—actually a key provision for the Foreign Policy Association has always been educating the public rather than the rarified specialist community—with scholarships, enhancing opportunities for communities too often ignored.
As an outcome, these two steps alone facilitate greater knowledge of the basics and the intricacies of our world. The discussions support non-partisan conversation, something hard to find over the past thirty years of increased polarisation and distrust. This is not to argue naively that specialists lecturing do not have political positions; of course they do. But the Councils themselves, as 501 ©(3) [a U.S. tax code designation for groups focusing on not-for-profit, non political activities] bodies, do not take a partisan position. The program committees of the various groups I have worked with over 37 years are wide-ranging in their membership, interests, and partisan positions, ultimately balancing into a nice reflection of society.
These bodies also support the Foreign Policy Association ‘Great Decision’ series, a set of topics with specifically designed materials dispersed for public discussion each year. The ‘Decisions’ include extended essays by experts to provoke conversation, along with lectures to the individual groups to spur further thought. It’s truly an interactive format for adults that brings us far better knowledge on something that is in the news regularly such as the South China Sea or the possibility of a Palestinian state.
World Affairs Councils are also scrupulous in asking their speakers to dedicate more than a token amount of time to audience questions. As I reflect on my years in this field, I am increasingly convinced many folks attend lectures not merely to hear the content but because they have a well-developed question they really want to ask. Most meetings reach their allotted time before satisfying all of the questions but Program Chairpeople and the leadership teams for various events never hesitate to remind speakers of the need to honour the audience’s questions. And they are generally quite fine questions, frequently expanding the speaker’s thinking as much as the questioner’s. What a deal.
In sum, I am a huge supporter of making knowledge available through this community-based format. I obviously do not have experience with every single one in the country but I support them. I abhor the ignorance or partisan comments (from any perspective) meant only to tear down the other side. We cannot be serious when we engage in this lunacy and the world increasingly wonders if we are serious.
If you have the chance to join a World Affairs Council, please consider it an incredible investment in our future. You can probably attend a single lecture, if that rings your bell, but being a member of the group strengthens your community. You can find out more about them at World Affairs Councils of America
Yes, I did speak, in tandem with my husband, at the third largest Council yesterday in Naples, Florida. The topic was China’s perspective on threats, inside and out. We had phenomenal questions, truly insightful. We had a couple of people make clear they had different views. That was great! None of us can be absolutely certain in our analysis because humans, with their many variables, are at the heart of it all. I only wish I got these opportunities more often as they push me to refine my thinking, much as ‘ActionsCreateConsequences’ does. I also am thrilled to see young people attend, meet more seasoned folks, and delve into the foreign policy questions which will matter much longer for them than for me at this point. Ignorance isn’t winning for us.
I also close with a heartfelt honour beyond words. One of you pledged to me on substack yesterday. I am not going to lie: I put in a lot of time preparing these musings but I did not ask people to pay to subscribe when I started. That this lady feels she is getting enough out of these analyses is a high I still haven’t come down from. We put our money where we value something. I am just so happy she values this. Thank all of you for reading it, daily or whenever.FIN