The history of Williamsburg is filled with gatherings of formidable brainpower: the American Revolution, the G7 conference in 1983, and any number of William and Mary faculty meetings. The World Forum on the Future of Democracy, held in September, will undoubtedly have to be added to the list. Addressed by prominent historians and political figures alike, the diverse delegation to the Forum came away with valuable perspectives on the role democracy will play in the 21st century.
With participants from 16 different nations -- including Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia and Bolivia -- the World Forum was the capstone on a historic year for Williamsburg and William and Mary. After 2007's visits from the Queen, the President, and thousands of tourists, the Forum provided attendees with questions and opinions to ponder, rather than merely names and dates.
Moderated by longtime journalist and PBS fixture Jim Lehrer, who made a point to focus various panelists on fresh and topical dialogue, the Forum included as participants and speakers Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, former Speaker of the House Thomas S. Foley, New York Times columnist David Brooks and Aspen Institute CEO Walter Isaacson.
Early in the day, noted historian Joseph Ellis '65, LL.D. '98 gathered with a group of current William and Mary students for a discussion on the Founding Fathers' ideals and how they have evolved since the Revolution. Forum attendees had been hearing about the remarkable achievements of Williamsburg and William and Mary all morning, so it was no surprise when Ellis commented on one of the students on his panel.
"You're one of those statistics I just saw -- you must be smart," he said.
Ellis went on to address the problems in discussing the Founders and their original intent -- "Which founder are you talking about, and at which point in his life?" -- as well as how contemporary partisanship compares with the past. Ellis said that the politics of the 1790s was more partisan than today's environment, but that today's election culture would have surprised the Founders. He did, however, come away having faced thoughtful and difficult questions from some of the College's brightest.
One major highlight of the Forum was the luncheon policy address by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates '65, LL.D. '02, who spoke on promoting democracy abroad from the perspective of a realist. Despite the present challenges the U.S. faces abroad, Gates noted, it should not be too much of a stretch to see the bright side.
"There is a different perspective if we step back and look at the world through a wider lens -- a perspective that shows a dramatic growth in human freedom and democracy in just the time since this fall's college freshmen were born," Gates said. "Since 1989, hundreds of millions of people -- from central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, to South Africa, Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere -- have been liberated: they have left the darkness of despotism and walked into the bright sunshine of freedom."
Gates also spoke on the significance of the World Forum's location. "It is a strange quirk of history that a backwoods outpost in an unexplored corner of America would hold in it the seeds of a global movement toward liberty and self-governance -- toward the democratic institutions that underpin the free nations of the world and give hope to countless people in many others," he said. "So much of what defines America first took root here in Virginia along the banks of the James River."
That evening, members of the Williamsburg and William and Mary community gathered with international delegates and members of the national media for the keystone moment of the Forum. Lehrer convened with former Supreme Court justice and current William and Mary chancellor Sandra Day O'Connor, former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger, and Ali Ansari, the director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Responding to questions posed by students and visitors to the forum, the panelists were careful to note that world democracy is not a foregone conclusion.
"Democracy is not passed on through the gene pool," said O'Connor. "It must be taught."
All three panelists noted that as democracy moves forward, Americans must recognize that it may look different in other places, and it is designed to reflect the people that create and keep it. Earlier in the day, Ellis explained a different way to remember the importance of keeping democracy fresh:
After a talk on Thomas Jefferson, Ellis was told by one audience member: "You are but a pigeon on the great statue of Thomas Jefferson."
His response: "It doesn't matter if you think I'm a pigeon. It does matter that you know he's not a statue."
