We the Battenites

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Today was quite the eventful day. We began with multiple espressos at the hotel cafeteria. Nothing to get you going like a double cappuccino. Our first trip was to interview Professor Ferrell at University College of Dublin. Professor Ferrell explained his most recent initiative – We The Citizens –, which brings together 67 ordinary citizens with 33 parliamentarians to debate 8 preselected constitutional amendments. Topics to be discussed are the length of the president’s term of office, same-sex marriages, and gender-inclusive constitutional language. Quite a remarkable event let alone a proposal. Although the US has such a rigid constitutional amendment process, Professor Ferrell was pessimistic when asked if the US might import such an amendment system.

Next, we explored two museums – one archeology and one literary museum. The archeology museum housed similar artifacts to those found in many other national museums. However, this museum had several human remains that are thousands of years old. The nerd in me was going crazy; thinking about how much could be learned from these ancient exhibits.

After visiting the Fixx (Dublin’s finest coffee shop), we went to Parliament to see how the Irish government worked. Similar to the British system, we saw a segment called “The Leaders’ Questions”, which allowed the leader of each party to ask questions and respond and rebut answers from the executive and other party leaders. Fascinating, we then moved into a small group discussion with the deputy of the Sinn Fein party. I got the change to ask him a question about foreign policy – specifically, how the US foreign policy was received by Ireland and what his ideal US foreign policy would be toward Ireland. He mentioned that, although President Clinton and Ambassador George Mitchell had been influential during the 1990s, Ireland’s focus on developing peace had not aligned with later US military interventions. With regards to the future, he expressed a more mixed response, noting that, from a foreign policy perspective, President Obama’s first term had been somewhat disappointing but that the selection of Secretaries John Kerry and Chuck Hagel for State and Defense, respectively, demonstrated both the ambition and optimism for more peace in the global community. As future policymakers, he charged us to follow this model and focus on stability and peace. To meet such a mover and shaker in the Irish government was exhilarating, especially since it was coupled with objective responses and concrete takeaways. This conversation, along with the observations of Parliament, helped me see how more knowledge of other cultures and governmental procedures will aid my policy career in America.

Finally, we are on our way to Inch Island. As much fun as Dublin has been, visiting the countryside promises to be both interesting and relaxing. Ireland is known for high-quality livestock and Inch Island is, from what I hear, no exception. The sheep there look healthy and warm. Interesting fact that we learned on the bus ride here – sheep are sheered from the back to the front.

By: Benjamin Lynch