Re: Where are we?

Description: Will Fidel Castro’s death bring change to Cuba?

Question:  When you read the newspaper of watch the news, what issues stand out for you?

Transcript: Well obviously I think what stands out is . . .  You know they say the essence of a good story is conflict.  And it seems to me that I read a lot about conflict.  Conflict in the political sense.  Conflict in our society between ethnic, racial and religious groups.  Conflict, you know, in our families.  And so much of the stories, if you read about them, there’s an element of conflict to it.   And so broadly defined, I’d say, you know, of course the issues of the day.  You know Iraq.  How do we educate our kids?  How do we get a quality education?  How do we have healthcare for every American?  How do we preserve the planet?  Those are the big issues, but even within all those issues is conflict.  And so it seems to me that what is missing is a combination of . . . instead of talking about the conflict, how do we go about solving the conflict?  And also, you know, there’s a lot of good things happening in our communities and in the country.  And those good things which can be models of successes, or instill pride, as well as promote a certain positivism for us collectively, they’re missing because they’re not the essence of a good story. 

Question: What is your stance on immigration?

Transcript: You know the history of our country is an immigrant history.  Only Native Americans – Indians – are allowed to believe that they are the one true Americans.  Everyone else – even maybe generations removed – but everyone else has an immigrant root to them.  And so . . .  This has always been, at the end of the day, a welcoming country; but it hasn’t always had a welcoming dialogue.  From the . . .  From the very beginnings of our country, Ben Franklin would say, “They’re sending a universe of people that we don’t want.”  I’m paraphrasing what he said.  And . . . or that would change the nation forever.  He was talking about the Germans.  The former governor of Massachusetts said, “We cannot afford any more of the illiterates they are sending to our shores.”  He was talking about the Irish.  In 1925, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce in an official report said, “We need the Mexicans because of their bending and crouching habits which the Whites cannot attain themselves to – to pick our agricultural products.”  And we had the Chinese exclusionary principles.  And the list goes on and on.  So if we think about our history, our history has always been replete with immigration being . . . the subject of immigration being a lightning rod for controversy; but we also have probably the most incredible experiment in the history of mankind, which is America; which is bringing this incredible diversity across the spectrum of humankind, and bringing them to the United States, and making them such a very special place.  So I believe very strongly that yes, we have to protect our borders and secure them.  And yes, every country now has the right and responsibility to do that.  But also I believe that in a world that is so interdependent, more so than ever before, to believe that we can just put up walls – whether actually construct walls or in otherwise seal ourselves off from the rest of the world is such a mistake.  And so you know it’s about realizing, yes, security.  And there are many ways to do that successfully; but it’s also about at the end of the day making sure that we take advantage of the incredible human capital that comes to our country, and that gives us some of the greatest Americans we’ve had who have made some of the greatest inventions.  Under the debate going on these days, Einstein, Edison, General Petraeus and a whole host of other people . . . Colin Powell . . . they would have never made it.  They would never even have been . . . made it to this country.  They would have been born in this country because the immigration policies that some are advocating today would never have allowed them to come in.  And so ultimately in my mind, I think this is about taking our country and fulfilling its potential by the incredible universe of people that can be added to this great American experience.  So “no” doesn’t mean we can’t have everybody in the world come here, obviously.  And it doesn’t mean that we should just have open borders.  No, I don’t say that either.  But by the same token we should recognize that we have achieved some of our greatest moments by those who have come to this country with a dream, worked hard to fulfill that dream, and enriched America by doing so.  And I would hope that that great experiment which has been one of the greatest successes of mankind, that we just don’t snip it right off and understand that, in a view that ultimately it is the threat versus the opportunity. 

Question: How do we decide who can become an American?

Transcript:  Those who, in my mind, believe in what America is all about, and are willing to work for it and fight for it; who believe in the very essence of our principles of democracy – the rule of law; who believe in opportunity, but also in hard work and sacrifice to make that opportunity a possibility for them individually; who believe that ultimately the promise of America is not to be horded by a few, but to be shared by all of us who are . . . who call America our home.  And so I believe it is those who believe in . . . and in their own lives from however humble to however powerful, live that American creed.  I believe those are the true Americans.

Question: Will Fidel Castro’s death bring change to Cuba?

Transcript: Well I don’t think that that act alone will change Cuba.  Certainly Fidel Castro will be the end of the dictatorship of one person, but that does not guarantee democracy on the flip side.  I do believe that when Fidel Castro meets his maker, that ultimately the question is, “How does change take place?”   I don’t believe that Raul Castro has a relationship with the Cuban people that Fidel Castro had, which was both a love-hate relationship.  And I believe that he will not be able to continue to be the next dictator because the Cuban people, in that human spirit that we talked about earlier more generally, desire the fundamental things that any human being on the face of the earth desire.  That individual freedom; the opportunity to worship at the altar that they choose; the opportunity to fulfill their God-given potential without being told by the state what their potential is; the opportunity to prosper by the sweat of their own brow; the opportunity to choose those who govern them.  And so that and so much more that is pent up within Cuban society, I don’t think will allow Fidel Castro’s brother Raul to stay in power long.  But I just don’t simply think that the death of Fidel Castro, whenever that takes place, automatically means democracy or respect of human rights of the Cuban people.  That still will be a work in progress.

Question: What is the world’s biggest challenge in the next decade?

Transcript: Sustaining the planet, because everything flows from it.  And that’s about global warming, but it’s also about the challenges of sustaining a planet between those who have and have not.  And all of that coming together in a way in which the very essence of our existence is at stake – at least our existence as we know it today.  If we continue with global warming, the . . . unfettered and largely unabated, the consequences to us are enormous . . . to us here at home and throughout the world.  Where there is already scarcity, there will be more.  Where there is already famine, there will be greater famine.  Where we care about migration, there will be movements of people.  Where we have scarce resources – natural resources – we will have less.  And where our very ability to sustain mankind as we know it today will be challenged.  And we will in a decade, if we don’t reverse the course, find ourselves not only with nature’s response to our destroying the very fragile balance that keeps us collectively joining together as mankind on this planet, but we will see the human consequences and responses to that.  And so if we don’t preserve the natural resources not only of our country but of the world . . . if we don’t do something about global warming, then we will have nature’s consequences, we will have mans’ consequences, and we will have greater conflict in the world as a result of the fight over scarce resources and dwindling resources.  And that is, I think, our single biggest challenge from . . . so that if we don’t manage this and begin to act in a different way from, you know, those who need access to have, you know be heated we’ll see a continuing chopping down of the Amazon for other purposes.  Those who have arid land will find themselves with even less.  In some parts of the world with less rainfall will travel to those where there is.  Those who find themselves in increasing rising flood zones and hurricane zones will seek to move away from those possibilities.  And the consequences of all of that is conflict – conflict over the very essence of people’s ability to survive and to have their families survive.  So I think that’s our biggest, single challenge over the next decade because it affects so many other things than we might think about as challenges.

Question: What should be the big issues of the 2008 presidential election?

Transcript: Well I think the single biggest issue in 2008 should be where do we want to go as a country?  That might not be viewed as an issue per se, but in my mind it’s an issue.  It’s the overriding question.  Where do we want to go as a country?  Do we want to, as a country, be willing to say that we will take a significant part of our fellow citizens and say, “You know what?  For some of us to do well, some of you cannot.”  Are we willing to accept 40% of our human capital in the communities of color not to fulfill their full potential and contribute to a greater America?  Are we willing to go to sleep at night saying, “Well I have health care coverage, so I’m not worried about the 47 million who don’t, or the millions more who are underinsured”?  Are we concerned about ensuring that we find the cures to some of the diseases that affect our fellow citizens so that my mother’s Alzheimer’s, or the young man I met with a spinal cord injury, or the husband with Parkinson’s, and so many other diseases . . .  Are we willing as a country to say we accept that that is a human condition that we cannot change?  And you know are we as a country willing at the end of the day to say we prefer to be known by the power of our bombs than the power of our collective intellect for good, and what that means in the world?  So the big question is what type . . .  The big issue is what type of America do we want to be?  Because if we determine what type of America we want to be, then all the other things will come into play.

Question: Is the American political system broken?

Transcript: I don’t think the system is broken.  I think Americans look at the debates that go on, for example, in Congress and say, “Well, they can’t seem to get along with each other.  Or they’re just political or partisan.”  And there is an element of that; but people come from across the country, and I’ve had the privilege and experience of representing . . . being in both houses of Congress.  So I look at when I was in the House of Representatives, there are . . . 435 people come from across the country, from North and South and East and West.  They come from great cities and farms.  They come from suburbia.  They’re doctors, and lawyers, and farmers, and business people, and teachers, and former veterans and a whole host of other things.  They’re Jew and Gentile, Protestant and Catholic, Muslim.  And across the spectrum they’re brought to the nation’s capitol to not only represent the interests of their particular district, but to represent the collective interests of the nation.  And they’re asked to face some of the most difficult challenges we have in our country, and to also look at the great opportunities that exist with our country, and come together to lead in what hopefully is a strong bipartisan response to these issues.  But at the end of the day, all those different experiences, all those different backgrounds, all the different political ideologies . . . sometimes they are rooted in . . . clearly in very strong views – principled views – as to how we achieve these goals or overcome these challenges.  And those principle views can sometimes be in great conflict.  And so that . . .  Whether it’s in the House or in the Senate, the reality is that it seems to me that what people sometimes view as strictly partisan is the clash of ideas – the clash of ideas that people brought from a very diverse country, but who hold, I think, common goals of achieving . . . making America the best that it can be.  And in doing so, that clash of ideas produces differences.  Some people look at that as a broken system.  I look at that as largely the fulfillment of the democracy that we have.

Recorded on: 9/12/07