Ten Days in the USA
by Ruth Hems, Law teacher at Hutchesons'
On Wednesday 28 May, I arrived in New York at the start of a 10-day US study tour been booked by an organisation called TEAM (The European Atlantic Movement), but which had been organised and was to be led by the US Department of State. With a part bursary having been awarded by the US Embassy and the Financial Times, the trip was to include several days in New York with a further 5-6 days in Washington DC. The overall purpose of the trip was to consider the machinations of the US Government and its key influencers. As a teacher of law, this was obviously going to be of great interest to me and have an impact on my understanding of the US side of any legal discussions I might have with my pupils. However, an added dimension of the programme soon became apparent as we followed the talks and attended the various meetings that had been arranged, and that was finding out about the way in which the US attempts to build good relationships with other countries across the globe. I was a member of a party of school teachers and felt that we were part and parcel of this building of "friendship" across the Atlantic.
A typical day was much like our first day in New York. Collected by bus at 8.30am, we were taken to the Horace Mann School, an independent day school in Riverdale, N.Y. The school was clearly very well resourced and we were pleased to be given presentations on the various courses they offer, including Politics, Religious Studies, History, Geography, Mathematics, Mandarin and International Affairs. In the afternoon, we were taken to hear a talk on Middle Eastern related matters by a Dr. Ben-Meir, and then to hear how the Financial Times covers the US from Gary Silverman, the newspaper's US News Editor. There was plenty of time for questions and answers.
Other visits followed, such as to the United Nations where we were told about the place and role of the United Nations, how effective it is when involved in crisis situations and how it manages to balance the views of small and big countries. We were also taken to the Fatih Camil Mosque, where we were met by a part-time civilian liaison officer of the New York Police Department who spoke in very positive terms of the way in which he had been assigned, in the wake of 9/11, to bridge cultures within a diverse community in Brooklyn and to improve relations generally between the police and the Islamic community. We were also taken to a meeting at the American Jewish Committee, where a discussion took place on the US presidential candidates and their campaigns.
After a couple of days in New York, we were taken by minibus to Washington DC. As in New York, various meetings had been arranged for us with follow up discussions warmly invited. We had meetings and talks at the Pentagon, the offices of the Delegation of the European Commission, Gallup, the Atlantic Council of the US, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, and saw the Diplomatic Reception Rooms where the Vice-President often meets with state visitors. Of particular interest to me was our visit and follow-up talk at the US Supreme Court. The Capitol itself was busy with tourists, so we were much relieved to be given a quiet room for our meeting with a Karen Kelly, US Supreme Court Fellow. She spoke in great detail about the similarities between the English and US legal systems; about the US constitution; its three articles relating to the legislative, executive and judicial branches; about the connection between state and federal government and about when the Supreme Court might accept a case. In connection with this, we were taken on a day trip to Maryland to learn more about the legislative branch of government. Here we saw the oldest state house - built in 1772-1779 - still in legislative use in the US. We were told about the checks and balances that come into effect as an idea becomes a bill and finally a law. We were shown to the courts and had our questions on the independence of the judiciary and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) answered.
We were left in no doubt as to the value the US places on its relations with other countries