“Everything is becoming so politicized and segregated that politics are losing their meaning. Watching channels and shows that you already agree with only creates greater polarization, which leaves no room for any outside opinion or abstract thought to gain a broader perspective
of things.”
Azar Nafisi, human rights activist and author of Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, Greg and Molly Engles Lecture, Tate Lecture Series, Dec. 3, 2007
“A lot of people assume that interviews with presidents and political leaders would be my favorites. But in many ways the most moving interviews to me are with those who have gone through exactly what I’ve gone through, a brain injury. Whatever you think about the Iraq war, soldiers who come back with injuries need to be
treated a lot better than they have been.”
Bob Woodruff, ABC News anchor and reporter, Jones Day Lecture, Tate Lecture Series, March 4, 2008
“The statistics are pretty dismal: 16 female senators out of 100; 71 female members of the House of Representatives out of 435. If you extrapolate from there, it will be about 200 years before women reach parity with men on Capitol Hill. But it’s not unusual anymore to see women in positions of power in Washington. We’ve had two female secretaries of state, a female national security adviser and a female attorney general. These were once positions reserved for men.”
Eleanor Clift, contributing editor of Newsweek and co-author of Madam President: Shattering the Last Glass Ceiling, SMU’s 43rd annual Women’s Symposium, Feb. 28, 2008
“The only way you unify people is by espousing sufficiently clear global values: freedom and democracy. But freedom and democracy alone won’t persuade the whole world. You have to add a value that is integral to our politics and way of life, and that is justice.”
Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain and Ireland and recipient of the Medal of Freedom from SMU’s John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies and Hart Global Leaders Forum Speaker, March 6, 2008
Kickoff of the 2008-09 Willis M. Tate Distinguished Lecture Series on September 16 will be an evening with James A. Baker III, Sam Nunn and David Gergen.