Sometimes, it's good to just talk to people (on Senator Kerry's trip to Africa)

Sometimes, it's good to just talk to people

When I saw the video of the Senator and Teresa's meeting with Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille, my first reaction was that this is how diplomacy is supposed to work. A member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting with foreign leaders, discussing democracy. The United States has a lot of work to do to restore our relationship with the rest of the world, and I think this is a good way to go about it. Of course, the conversation will not always be as cordial as the one in this video, but the only way to have a discussion is to start one. And the only way to resolve our differences with other countries is to find out where we agree and where we do not.
We have to talk to people. With those countries who are our friends and with countries that are not quite so friendly. It's a simple fact that the Bush administration seems not to understand. Thankfully, some of our leaders do.

(Video)

After reflecting on this video, a couple of other points stand out for me. First, when people of courage come together, their differences are often not nearly as obvious as those things they have in common. Second, that people support the principles of democracy in the same way in different countries all over the planet.

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