Eitan posing a question to the Chargé d’affaires
“I hope you aren’t spreading fake news!” jested Emily. A quick-witted Hungarian girl was grilling the American Charge d’Affaires to Hungary about the U.S.’s inadequate reaction to the rigged election process that just took place in a supposedly democratic country. As someone with a passion for politics and international diplomacy, I had been excited at the opportunity to hear the leading American diplomat speak. Furthermore, I had even prepared a number of difficult questions for the Charge d’Affaires. However, when he finished his opening remarks and opened the floor up for questions, I was dumbfounded to see that many of my Hungarian counterparts’hands eagerly shot up before I had even finished clapping.
Chargé d’affaires David Kostelancik of the US Embassy in Hungary
In the U.S., widespread political activism and involvement is a recent development and is still relatively narrow in its scope and influence. However, among my Hungarian peers from SSG, nearly every one of them had actively utilized their rights to assemble and demonstrate peaceably. Furthermore, they were all unabashedly vociferous about their political beliefs, especially in regards to the newly re-elected Prime Minister and his autocratic regime. While U.S. media coverage of the small and land-locked Central European country’s rigged elections had been relatively sparse, my Hungarian counterparts had actively displayed their dismay and outrage at the oppressive and undemocratic practices of the current Hungarian government through protest and involvement in Hungary’s youth parliament. As a result, their skills for rhetoric and debate were constantly being honed and sharpened.
“Of course I’m not spreading fake news,” responded the diplomat. The SSG students’ intense passion for democracy and the protection of their basic rights as human beings, however, compelled them onward in their quest to receive sufficient answers to their questions. Nevertheless, the professional, trained in foreign service, maintained his composure while the cameraman was snapping shots of the public appearance. However, as the event concluded and the charge d’affaires quickly exited the school, I was sure I saw a bead of sweat glistening on the diplomat’s forehead.
