Krauthammer Lecture

This rural Nicollet County couple attended the Lindau symposium last evening at Gustavus Adolphus College and heard the Pulitzer Prize winning conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer give his observations of the Washington scene. We enjoyed it very much.

We are very appreciative of being able to live in an area where we can take advantage of these enrichment opportunities at little or no cost. It is part of the quality of life we hold so dear to this great state. And Dr. Krauthammer reiterated that last night. He again, commented that, "it is true, you people in Minnesota are - nice. Every time I come here, I experience it."

As the Free Press article this morning noted, Dr. Krauthammer is no fan of the President. That is okay. His message was that in a democracy we need debate and discussion and that "it is a blessing for us to be able to be living through a time when we are having the basic discussion of 'what is the role of government?'"

He mentioned that this discussion has been held before in our history, most recently in the early 1980's. Some changes were made, but not significant. He indicated that the next election will help to answer this basic question.

Dr. Krauthammer talked a lot about President Obama and what makes him tick. It seems to me talking about past speeches and actions of people is only touching the tip of the iceberg. History, culture, heritage, and upbringing play very important roles in who we are. Most of us have not walked in the other person's shoes.

 It might be important to note that there was an overflow crowd in Alumni Hall, however I did not notice a person of color in the crowd.