I spent much of today painting the dining room. As I painted, National Public Radio was broadcasting, 'gavel to gavel', the testimony of General Petraeus and the US Ambassador to Iraq to two Senate committees. Hours and hours of discussion on the current situation and future of Iraq. Not exactly entertainment - yet I found it somehow heartening. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker came across as intelligent and humane individuals (a description which my Democrat/progressive friends may baulk at, but I honestly don't think they are bad men). The Senators who questioned them appeared, for the most part, to be serious and thoughtful. There seemed to be mutual respect and some genuine dialogue going on.
It was an interesting exercise to listen in on, and I for one felt better informed as a result. We rely so much on the media to edit for us and deliver the 'important' or 'newsworthy' aspects of a story, political or otherwise. But perhaps what's really important is the duller stuff - people just talking to each other, and at best maybe even listening to each other.
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