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November 04, 2005

speaking in Madrid

I just gave my speech on "Education for Democratic Citizenship" to an audience in Madrid. The text is here.

Speaking in a large auditorium is always a surreal experience: the strong lights block out the audience and one's voice sounds strange on the p.a. system. In this case, there was also a massive video image of me playing behind me as I spoke. Since unfortunately I don't speak Spanish, I had little sense of the context--what the other speakers had said or what the audience expected. The geographical context (a vast conventional center near the airport) was also mysterious. Adding to the inevitable surrealismo, I have been running a fever since Monday. I seem to have a 'flu that I have probably imported to the E.U. along with some ideas about democratic education.

One nice man told me afterwards that he appreciated hearing an American give an alternative perspective (meaning an alternative to G.W. Bush's view). If others felt the same way, then the speech was worthwhile.

Posted by peterlevine at November 4, 2005 06:24 AM

Comments

Hope everything is going well. America needs alternative voices. There will be a lot of repair work needed after this administration has gone. It is good that you are part of it.

Posted by: airth10 [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 4, 2005 08:54 AM

...part of the repair work.

Posted by: airth10 [TypeKey Profile Page] at November 4, 2005 08:56 AM

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