Day 6 Reflection

Barry Lawrence

5-11-10

Day 6 Reflection

Today Dr. Auton spoke with us briefly on our experiences thus far in Washington. In reflection, whether I do or do not decide to pursue a political job here in Washington, we are getting valuable networking experience (or at least I am from my frantic search for a job here) as well as the privilege of learning a very interesting topic from the people who live it everyday.

Next Dr. Auton gave us some topics to ponder on now having a greater understanding of policy making, how it is intended to function, and how it really functions. Principally, the fundamental differences between so-called “formal” and “informal” decision channels. In essence, formal channels would be what most of us would normally think of in terms of how the government functions; the “well oiled machine” that has a system of checks and balances that involve no less than two agencies and usually two branches of the government in any one decision. Informal decision channels seem to be the only real way to get anything done in this town, being that they tend to respectfully bypass some complexities of the bureaucratic systems in favor of more direct relationships, usually consisting of personal contacts and party affiliates. In other words, if an official at agency A wanted something from agency B, instead of sending requests that are processed through a complex Boolean based system, only to end up on a desk for sometimes months, the official may prefer to call his old buddy at agency B to process the request himself. This combined with the ever-present aspect of uncertainty can provide many problems for the inelegance community.

Finally, we had Gus Biggio, retired US Marine show us a brief presentation on his recent involvement in the war on terror in Afghanistan. This was a particularly interesting and helpful presentation for me, and I think everyone, because it offered a first-had glimpse into what really happens “over there”. All too often the media portrays our armed forces stationed overseas as drones that follow orders in a never-ending fight against an undefined enemy. While this may very well be the case in some instances, it seemed to me that Biggio’s experiences in Afghanistan were successful in aiding the Afghani people to stabilize themselves enough to have a functioning government free of terrorist control. I know have a greater appreciation for what our armed forces are fighting for overseas thanks to today’s presentation.