This is going to be a rather unconventional post, so I apologize first.
This past weekend, I spent 3 days in Indianapolis for the Midwest Model European Conference. It is exactly how it sounds – it is a model EU. Our schools were divided into delegations – the countries we would represent. Ball State had two delegations: The Netherlands and Sweden. Within the delegation, I was playing Jan Balkenende – the Prime Minister from the Netherlands. This was an interesting role for me to play, because to be frank: I had no idea what I was doing there.
The heads of state from each delegation meet as the European Council. This is the body that proposes legislation, but does not make it. Instead, there are discussion topics that all members [attempt] to reach consensus on. I can honestly say after sitting in no fewer than 8 hours of these sessions that people have no clue what they are talking about. They’re supposed to be representing the views of the countries they are representing: they are not supposed to put their on views into it at all.
This became highly apparent when a directive from the Commission came through while we were have a plenary session with our Foreign Ministers. This directive called for ALL [without exception] European member states to take in prisoners from Guantanamo Bay once it was closed. This directive also had numerous points to go along with it, stating that once the member state took in the prisoner, the nation was to try and charge them with crimes. However, in this directive, it even stated that the United States had not been able to find any evidence to try them. So… why would another European state do this? It’s beating a dead horse.
That was what I had to deal with in the conference.
A lot of time is spent socializing with your delegates outside the conference, so often we would walk to downtown Indianapolis to catch dinner or go to the bar. In order for us to go downtown, we had to walk by the state Capitol building. At first, we noticed there were a lot of people walking back from the direction of the Capitol. After further investigation, we found they were members of the Tea Party and they had been picketing all afternoon. They held up signs that said “Palin ’12,” the ubiquitous “Don’t Tread On Me,” and my favorite “FREDOM LOST IS FOREVER LOST” (yes, that is how they spelled freedom). Being such a strong liberal, I must say I was rather uncomfortable. I wanted nothing more than to stop and question them to find where they are getting the information they spew, but I refrained. I wouldn’t want to cause a scene.
The next day was my favorite though: they were back, but this time with rifles strapped to their backs. I’m sorry, I appreciate the fact you have freedom of speech and the right to bear arms, but is strapping a rifle to your back while at a protest in downtown Indianpolis at the State Capitol necessary? If that protest became hostile, I would not want to be downtown at that point for fear of being shot – and I know I would since I have an Obama pin on my bag I was carrying.
I guess the point of this blog was to show what I had to deal with this weekend: stupidity. Stupidity in politics. I know it’s rather unconventional, but I will post another one in relation to a news article later this afternoon.
Katastrophic Konfessionals 