![]() Make no mistake: I have one of the best jobs in the world and to the President and the Senate, my colleagues and I shall be forever grateful. What our fellow citizens may not realize, however, is how much of our time is spent as innkeepers, reservations clerks, constituency-service representatives, and processors of the grunt work of government. hearing American fiddlers, pianists, sitting for American… photographers, writing letters of to.the House of Lords.”ĭiplomats are, more often than commonly understood, hostages to such mundane concierge and flag-flying tasks, mandatory social events, an endless stream of “visiting firemen” wanting to make courtesy calls, and a host country’s insatiable appetite for speeches.Īlthough the ambassador’s more serious labors are often confidential and intangible, taxpayers have some sense of the substantive policy work of Embassies. move the bones of their ancestors interpreting the income tax law. My predecessor Walter Hines Page offered a rather depressing description of what he did as American ambassador in London in 1913: This variance between perception and reality is nothing new. But the substance and volume of what else today’s Embassies really do might astonish many taxpayers. Routinely and elegantly, chiefs of mission, past and present, respond by describing the peaceful advancement of our country’s interests abroad and defining the diplomat’s own role in terms of reporting, representation and advocacy. ![]() “What does an Embassy do?”, ambassadors have always been asked.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |