“I firmly believe that history and geography are destiny.” That’s what Twin Cities international law attorney Mary McCormick displayed on a screen when she talked with a group of Cook County citizens at the Cook County Community Center in September about the country of Myanmar, otherwise known as Burma. She was a volunteer speaker for the Great Decisions discussion program on world affairs that meets eight times a year in many locations throughout the country. Like other Great Decisions presentations, McCormick’s talk represented a lot of research.
Myanmar has been called the “rice basket of Asia,” McCormick said. Bordered by China, India, Laos, Thailand, and Bangladesh, it is rich in natural resources that have been exploited by outsiders. Its 1,000-mile central river valley is dotted with elaborate Buddhist temples.
Myanmar has undergone centuries of invasions and takeovers as various world powers have tried to establish colonies and trade routes and has repeatedly fragmented back into a Texas-size region of city-states. It is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world, and this has made the development of a national identity very difficult.
In 1885, Winston Churchill’s father started the third British invasion of Burma. Royal palaces and libraries were burned down, and the country ended up a province of India until it gained independence again in the 20th century. The first Burmese constitution was written in 1935, but the country only had democracy for 14 years in the 20th century. Leader Aung San, assassinated in 1947, was considered a victim of Burma’s two worst sins: factionalism and jealousy. His daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, became the chairperson for the National League for Democracy and won a Nobel Peace Prize but was a political prisoner on house arrest for about 15 years between 1989 and 2010.
Aung San Suu Kyi called for the lifting of the martial law that was in effect from 1962 to 2011. She described her nation’s government as “ruthless.” The government developed informants everywhere, including the Buddhist monasteries, which have traditionally been the country’s centers of learning. Until 50 years ago, the Burmese were some of the most educated people in Asia. Monks were killed in the Saffron Revolution in 2007 during demonstrations protesting the end of fuel subsidies that caused prices to rise precipitously. Burmese citizens have called futurist and author George Orwell, whose mother was born in Burma, “the prophet.”
Burma is not presently governed by the military but many still don’t trust its government. McCormick said that today, China, India, and Thailand are building ports and rail lines through Burma. Many of the country’s resources are being sold out of the country and fuel shortages and power outages are common. China has taken over the logging, pineapple, and sugar cane industries, a situation resented by locals. “Corruption is a huge issue,” she said.
McCormick was so interested in Myanmar after researching and speaking about it that she booked herself a tour of the country with the American Bar Association.
Local Great Decisions group
McCormick was just one of many “remarkable speakers” who have presented their research to the Cook County Great Decisions chapter, according to coordinator Randy Czeswik of Hovland and St. Paul.
“I’m a lifelong student of world affairs,” Czeswik told the Cook County News- Herald. He described himself as “the Ed Sullivan of the group,” which means he hosts the meetings, recruits local presenters, and invites experts from out of the area. By trade, he is a human resources consultant who has been involved in career counseling, executive search, and industrial/organizational psychology businesses.
Each year, the Foreign Policy Association, which created the Great Decisions program in 1954, publishes a briefing book with essays on eight different topics that will be the focus of discussion for that year.
The local program started in 2005 with help from Bob Pratt, Diane Booth, and Robert Hattery, a former University of Indiana professor who had previously promoted “North Shore Public Discussion Opportunities” for over 17 years. Great Decisions is open to the public and meets at the Community Center from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month with the exception of July, August, and December.
Past presenters and topics have included Eric and Virginia Reiner on pandemics and national security, Hyla Napadensky on energy and the global economy, Mike Carlson on war crimes, Judy Siegle on human rights and terrorism, Jake Hjorth on the European Union, Jeff Kern on global governance, and Czeswik himself on the global food supply. Speakers do a lot of reading to prepare for their presentations but are not required to be experts to take on a topic.
Having read briefing book essays, attended discussions, and presented on numerous topics, Czeswik said, “You quickly realize how complex these issues are. There are no easy answers.”
Czeswik first became involved in Great Decisions about 15 or 16 years ago in Minneapolis and became a leader of a group comprised of professors, retired diplomats, international businesspeople, and ordinary citizens. “We have just as lively discussions up here as we do down there,” he said. “We try to encourage civilized debate.”
Twenty to 40 people attend the Cook County group. “It’s a lively bunch,” Czeswik said. “I think it’s a little bit of magic!” The “real energy,” he said, comes from the people who attend and those who have worked so hard to prepare presentations.
The context of the speaker’s life adds much richness to his or her presentation, Czeswik said, and people get to know their neighbors. “Many of our neighbors are brilliant!” he said. Hyla Napadensky, for example, is one of this country’s leading experts on explosives and was called on during the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, he said. She packs the house when she speaks.
Great Decisions has been a great way to learn about the world, Czeswik said. “It is very difficult for Americans to grasp what the rest of the world is thinking and doing. …We’re not always the good guys.” He said the U.S. is known for being very rich and very powerful, with annual military expenditures greater than those of the rest of the world combined. “We are the big gorilla of the world. …We have extraordinary influence in the world. We also have extraordinary enemies in the world.”
We cannot expect other countries to embrace our ideals when their cultures and worldviews are totally different from ours, he said. “It’s very hard for us to grasp the tradition and the history and the glue that binds other nations together.”
Great Decisions discussions are open to the public. The briefing book can be purchased for $20 from the Minnesota International Center at www.micglobe.org or the Foreign Policy Association at www.fpa.org but is also available at the Grand Marais Public Library. Reading the essay on the upcoming topic beforehand is recommended.
For more information, contact Randy Czeswik at (218)475-0091 or czeswik@aol.com.
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