Week Eleven is drawing to a close, and what a week it was! Wednesday night I attended the International Dinner which was a really nice experience. It was much more laid-back than I expected it to be, but I enjoyed getting to chat with PTJ and other students over really delicious food. It was catered by a non-profit called “Foodhini” which works to provide DC refugees with jobs making food from their home cultures. The food was really good- I’d never had Iranian or Eritrean food before- and they also deliver, so it felt like a win all around. I would definitely recommend them! Of course, the big event of the week was the Midterm Elections. This was just the second election I’ve voted in (and my first time voting absentee), and I think I went into it much more informed than I’d ever been in the past. Since last week when we talked about “self” and “other” I can’t stop thinking about a statement my 21st Century Silk Road professor made: “There’s no such thing as domestic policy in an international world”. On Monday I actually participated in the webinar with Senator Russ Feingold (full transcript at bottom; go Wisconsin!) and was able to ask him his opinion on this statement, as well as its implications for US national sovereignty. He said: “The fact that he [Trump] keeps pushing all of these buttons on foreign policy at the same time he does the domestic makes us realize that the two really go hand in hand” (13:27:08). Senator Feingold, similar to what we discussed last Thursday in class, discussed how this issue is exemplified by the raging immigration debate. Immigration is a major domestic policy issue for the US, but it’s also a cause and effect of our international relations and actions in Mexico and Central America. Moving forward I think it will be really interesting to see what these midterm elections mean for the US (especially the Democratic Party’s) sense of self, and core values, and how those things will materialize in political discourse and policy. As we learn more about political theory I look forward to using those lenses to understand and analyze different politicians and how they apply those theories in real life. Slightly off-topic, but I really must say that it was so, so satisfying to participate in the 2011 Wisconsin Protests back in the fifth grade and now, almost eight years later as an adult, be able to vote Scott Walker out of office. Wisconsinites worked so hard for so long to make this happen, and to have it finally pay off is so exhilarating. While I’m not too optimistic about major reversals with the Foxconn deal, I do look forward to what Evers will do regarding Wisconsin’s education system, both at the primary/secondary and collegiate level. Wisconsin, and my hometown Madison in particular, have some of the worst racial achievement gaps in the country, and I’m hoping that Evers with his background in education will be able to put in place remediary policies. Lastly, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to all those affected by the California wildfires. That situation is truly horrific, and not due to a horribly mismanaged forest service, and I only hope that a resolution can be found as soon as possible. Until next week~~~
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KateHi, I'm Kate! I'm from Madison, WI and am planning on majoring in SIS focusing on East-Asia China. I like practicing kung fu, listening to music, and drinking bubble tea. Archives
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