Colin Powell
Listened to Colin Powell, the former U.S. Secretary of State a few days ago when he came by Stanford. He is incredibly charismatic, and an entertaining, enlightening speaker- qualities that are incredibly important in America.
He talked about how his experiences in the army had shaped him, and many of themes he touched on were those I fondly remember from my OCS days; he talked about life post-public service, and he talked about America in relation to the world: “We are still the nation people look to”. He talked about Obama’s victory, and why he voted for Obama instead of long-time friend McCain.
It is always incredibly enlightening for me to hear retired public servants talk. In their words you hear the thoughts that shaped the current realities, and in their voices you hear the weariness of a veteran, mixed with the optimism that what they have done and the successors they have appointed will make things better. Powerful stuff for the new generation.
