“Since the fall of the Soviet Union we’ve had a hard time describing strategically what we as a nation are trying to accomplish. And this lack of strategic clarity of thought creates a dynamic where we seem to be frequently adrift in various places around the world.”
--Gen. John P. Abizaid (retired) on the Post-Cold War strategy. Abizaid is the former commander of United States Central Command covering Southwest Asia, the Horn of Africa and much of the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
“This is about a clash between history, politics, and the truth… The West may use the concept of human rights and democracy, but these ideals must be defended.”
--Award-winning documentarian Carla Garapedian on commemorating the Armenian Genocide, an atrocity the Turkish government has yet to formally acknowledge.
“The beauty of the modern moment is that we have so many different voices, so many different experiences, around us. The challenge of the modern moment is to embrace them, and not to be daunted but inspired by them.”
--Acclaimed author Pico Iyer on globalization and English literature.
“We need leaders that can devise strategies and inspire other people to follow-them, leaders that can negotiate with the powers against which they are struggling, provide successful transitional leadership to a new society, design successful institutions…”
--Former Duke University and Wellesley College president Nannerl Keohane, Ph.D., on the future of leadership.
“There are 250 sheets of colored paper with her rewrites... the revisions are extraordinary and really show the writer she had become. Part of it is the difference between being a 13-year-old girl when she started the diary and a 15 year old when she revised it.”
--Distinguished American author and Bard College writing professor Francine Prose on The Diary of Anne Frank.
Video available of select Athenaeum talks, visit: http://athenaeumvideos.cmc.edu/