Peace and Liberty through Diplomacy
Overlooking the skyline of my hometown of Kansas City stands a monument that pays tribute to the sacrifices made during the first World War. In 1921, Kansas Citians raised $2.5 million dollars in just 10 days to pay to build the Liberty Memorial. In today’s dollars, it would be the equivalent of $34 million. Five years later in 1926, it was finished. In his dedication of the monument, President Calving Coolidge said, “It has not been raised to commemorate war and victory, but rather the results of war and victory which are embodied in peace and liberty.”
As my hometown prepared to celebrate peace and liberty in a ceremony commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the U.S. entrance into the first World War, I had a chance to be in Brussels as Europe was celebrating an important anniversary brought about through lessons learned in war: The anniversary of the formation of the European Union.
The trip, organized by the European Union Delegation to the United States, gave me an opportunity to learn more about how the European Union works and the complexities of creating policy between 28 Member States. We attended a press conference conducted in two languages — English and French. Though policy briefings with those both inside and outside the EU, I learned more about EU policy as well as the EU’s transatlantic relationship with the United States.
Meanwhile, we also witnessed a somber moment in European history as British Prime Minister Teresa May sent the letter to Donald Tusk officially invoking Article 50 to leave the European Union. However, being in Brussels during this moment gave me a better understanding of the complexities surrounding the British exit.
In the wake of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the EU, the Europeans we met with seemed recommitted to its founding principles and values. Those values are embodied in the monuments on display throughout the buildings where we toured: outside the entrance to the Parliament building stands a piece of the Berlin Wall; inside the same building is a room named after Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian journalist killed while exposing the truth.
These monuments, just as the monument in my hometown, serve as reminder of the history that brought about the building of this institution and a commitment to future peace and liberty through diplomacy.
Annual Brussels Press Visit for U.S. Graduate Journalism Students
The Delegation of the European Union to the United States (EUintheUS) organizes annual press visits to the EU Headquarters in Brussels for American Graduate Journalism students representing major U.S. Journalism Schools across the country. These visits give participants a better understanding of the EU and how it works, and of relations between the US and the EU. It is also an excellent opportunity to develop professional contacts and to discover the extensive range of services that the EU provides to journalists. Learn more.
