Prague Journal

Thursday, April 7, 2005.

This year marks the 100th birthday of Senator J. William Fulbright, who was born April 9, 1905, so William Cabaniss, the US Ambassador in Prague, hosted a reception this evening in his honor. Fulbright served as president of the University of Arkansas from 1939 to 1941 before being elected to the U.S. Senate, where he spent 30 years, 15 of them as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. He was the only senator to vote against funding Joseph McCarthy’s investigating committee, and he introduced legislation that led to the formation of both the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the United Nations. One memorable Fulbright quote, on the subject of his opposition to Mcarthy, was “You can’t win a pissing match with a skunk.”
On Feb. 9, 1995, Senator Fulbright died in Washington. He was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Fayetteville, his hometown. Fulbright is remembered around the world as the author of the famed Fulbright Scholarship Program, created in 1946 in the aftermath of World War II. The program, intended to increase mutual understanding among nations through the exchange of knowledge and skills, has provided funding for more than 255,000 participants to travel and study abroad. Despite the fact that on April 15, 1973, while a guest on the CBS television program Face The Nation, Senator Fulbright said, “Israel controls the United States Senate,” I feel truly privileged to have the honor of being a Fulbright Scholar here this year.
I found out this evening that the director of the Fulbright program here has been talking with some folks at the US embassy about having me speak at the Woodrow Wilson Center next month. I am the last to know! I’m happy to give a presentation, but I’m not sure what they want – or who they propose to invite. Hana suggested that I should speak with Karen, who is involved in a gender studies research project, to broaden the interest. Karen’s research is quite different than mine – the only common thread is that we are both talking with women! – so I’m not sure how well we’d fit together. Hana knows that I will be out of town for two weeks now and that I also have travel plans for May. The Woodrow Wilson Center availability may pose another problem, since it is used for many presentations and meetings. I envisioned that I’d have few obligations this spring. Now, my schedule is getting tighter than I would like.

posted by JWinn @ 10:58 PM