Retired U.S. ambassador delivers lecture on campus

Distinguished diplomat Max Kampelman offered his views of America's role in shaping the world's future Tuesday evening in a session entitled "Entering New Worlds." Kampelman is the former counselor of the State Department and retired ambassador and head of the United States Delegation to the Negotiations with the Soviet Union on Nuclear and Space Arms in Geneva. He was introduced to the audience of more than 70 by Political Science Professor Alvin Rubinstein as "a man close to the hub of U.S. foreign policy in the 1970s and 1980s." Kampelman discussed the sweeping nature of the technological change he has witnessed during the course of his 75-year life. "It has been said that 'necessity is the mother of invention,' " he said. "The corollary is also true. Invention is the mother of necessity. Invention is necessitating change in our lives. "Yet the body politic has not kept up with the growth of the scientific world," he added. "We have learned to fly but have yet to learn how to live on this planet as brothers." The former ambassador illustrated his point by citing examples from the European Community. "At first [after the fall of Communism], I found the mood to be one of euphoria and self-congratulation," Kampelman explained. "But this euphoria was short lived. Within two years Europe felt depressingly impotent, obsessed with challenges it could not face." Meanwhile, the world has seen an improvement in health care, increased life expectancy and higher food consumption. The less fortunate, through new communication technology, discover the opportunity and the desire for a better life, he explained. But nationalistic sentiment in places like the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia has caused the closing of borders to foreign technology, he said. "Protected national boundaries can keep out vaccines but not the germs," Kampelman said. "People in nationalistic separation will realize that they are dooming themselves and their children to become orphans of history." Kampelman also argued that the U.S. has the responsibility to take on the role of leader in the international political arena. College junior Connie Chung said she enjoyed the talk. But she criticized the superficial nature of the speech. "Although he made a lot of broad statements, I thought it was insightful," she said. The lecture was held in the Arthur Ross Gallery of the Furness Building.