PORTLAND, MAINE | Maine Seeds and Educators took part in a community conversation with Sen. Angus King (I-ME) on January 15, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, at the Maine Girls Academy.
Sen. King engaged the Seeds on a variety of topics, including the impact of “alternative” facts on his job as a Senator, and the President’s recent comments on immigration.
“Part of having a successful group is knowing one another, is trusting one another,” said Sen. King. “How can we [Senators] do that, how can we build that trust, if we don’t spend time with one another?”
The Maine Senator spoke about the decline of political collaboration, compromise, and consensus-building in Washington and his efforts to bridge divides between lawmakers by, among other things, hosting dinners for colleagues from across the aisle.
The Seeds asked King about Congress’ responsibility to protect “the truth” in a world of misinformation and to ensure the presence of nuanced narratives in history textbooks. The Senator also spoke about U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Twenty-one Seeds from various Camp years took part in the conversation.
“The most striking part of the evening for me was seeing the diversity of our community in the room,” said Seeds of Peace Camp Director Sarah Brajtbord.
“We had Seeds there that dated back to 1994 all the way up to 2017. It was a beautiful spectrum of people present, and illustrated the need to build stronger and deeper connections across alumni years in order to make our Maine Seeds community as powerful as it can be.”
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