Political Football?

Yesterday, my fellow interns and I had the privilege to meet Ambassador John Evans and receive some insight on his adventures as a State Department dignitary. You see, Ambassador Evans, was removed from his post as Ambassador to Armenia after becoming quite vocal on The U.S responsibility to accept the Armenian Genocide for what it was: a genocide. The issue was, however, that Ambassador Evans clearly undermined the State's Departments hush hush policy of silence regarding recognition. According to his colleagues and superiors, his stance was unacceptable. Thus, he was made a sort of hero- I would go so far as to say even a martyr- in the Armenian American community. What is striking to me about the Ambassador, however, is that prior to becoming Ambassador in 2004, he had never been to Armenia. He had never had a connection to the people or the land. Nor does he have an Armenian grandmother, wife, or former college roommate. My point here is that Ambassador Evans, as he confessed, learned the undeniable truth of the Genocide merely through reading he did on his own time. To me, I suppose that, not the price he paid for his beliefs, is the most heroic part of his contribution to the Armenian cause.

In any case, the Ambassador spoke of something that really resonated with me. So much so, that I doodled politicians kicking soccer balls in my notebook during our meeting with him. As the Ambassador so wittily put it, the game of International Affairs is much like international football without the referees and 190 teams playing all at once. An appropriate metaphor- given the game of games coming up this Sunday (Viva Espana!) When the Ambassador said this, a tornado of thoughts immediately started rushing through my head and it wasn't only because I'm an avid soccer fan. Most importantly, I started to wonder which way was better. When it comes to International Affairs, should we hail our whistle blowing judges or should we send them off with the very red cards they themselves so often present to the players. If this sounds bizarre and trivial, I want to leave you with this thought.

In the game of international affairs, should regulation violators like Louis Suarez of Uruguay be sent off for blatantly ignoring the rules of the game by using fists to pull out incoming goals? After all, justice was appropriately served in the form of a penalty kick against Suarez and his countrymen. Or, do referees sometimes do more harm than good? Remember the U.S. game against Slovenia. Anyone with half an eye and half a brain could tell that the referees whistle robbed the Americans of the winning goal. Of course, I would not go so far as to suggest the removal of "referees" altogether from International Affairs. But, is the globalizing world, much like FIFA, in severe need of an instant replay tool?