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Fall 2004 | Return to Index
The Falmouth Forum: An Overview of the Season thus Far
-- by MBL Associate, Carol Wagner
On October 29th, the community welcomed author and Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, Julia Preston, as the first speaker in the Falmouth Forum's new season. Ms. Preston’s topic, "Making Democracy: What We Can Learn From Mexico," drew on the extensive knowledge she gained as a New York Times correspondent in Mexico from September 1995 until September 2000 and also researching the book she co-authored with Samuel Dillon, Opening of Mexico – the Making of a Democracy. The common thread in Ms. Preston's presentation was “time.” Mexico took 36 years to achieve this fragile democracy. Ms. Preston suggested that the United States look to its southern neighbor for insight to achieving the democracy so desired by the U.S. throughout the world.
"Arab Attitudes Toward America and the Role of al Jazeera" was the topic chosen by former U.S. Ambassador William Rugh when he addressed the Forum audience on Friday, January 7, 2005. Ambassador Rugh’s knowledge of the Mideast began when he joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1964 and he needed to become proficient in a second language. He decided Arabic would serve him best because this language was spoken in at least five countries. And, unlike most career foreign service officers who immerse themselves in the issues of many different countries for brief periods of time, Mr. Rugh decided to delve into one region of the world and become an expert on that region. Clearly Ambassador Rugh achieved his goal. Throughout the talk audience members could be seen nodding in agreement or murmuring appreciation for the insightfulness and clarity with which Ambassador Rugh presented the complicated subject matter. Given the current state of U.S. relations in the Mideast, the Q & A period following the talk was more spirited than usual.
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Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon
William Rugh
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