Jul 20 2018 25 mins
Well, that was quite a week. And no doubt, in the few hours between my recording this intro and when the podcast drops, another extraordinary week will have passed.
How to make sense of it? To fashionably employ the double negative – it’s so good to see grammar finally get its due on the world stage – I don’t think it’s unfair to ask: Where are we as a nation?
For guidance, I turned to former U.S. Ambassador and current professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Nicholas Burns. Without exaggeration, I don’t think I could have found anyone better.
A full rundown of his bio could be a podcast on its own. Just some highlights:
· Served or participated under five presidents
· U.S. Ambassador to NATO – including on 9/11 – and Greece
· State Department Spokesman
· National Security Council, where he held roles covering Russia, Ukraine, Eurasia Affairs, and the Soviet Union
· Onsite service at the American Consulate General in Jerusalem and U.S. Embassies in Egypt and Mauritania
And don’t get me started on his 15 honorary degrees, Presidential Distinguished Service Award, Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award – all of which, I bet, Burns would rank below his true claim to fame: Life-long member of Red Sox Nation.