Rice Shares Global Vision of Democracy

Condoleezza Rice, the 66th U.S. secretary of state, shared insight into the Russia-Ukraine war as well as China and other international hot spots, while sprinkling wisdom about democracy, education and her childhood in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, at the Westmont President’s Breakfast on Feb. 28. More than 700 early-morning attendees enjoyed the sold-out event, now in its 20th year at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.

President Gayle D. Beebe presented the Westmont Leadership Award to Rice before the two engaged in an hour-long conversation on stage.

Opening on the Russia-Ukraine war, Rice said with 200,000 Russian soldiers dead and 600,000 injured, it’s time for this war to end. “The Russian army went into this war with five days’ provisions and their dress uniforms for the parade into Kiev,” she said. “And here we are, three years later, and everybody’s still sucking it out. Ukraine needs to — as a secure, independent, sovereign country — now get back to rebuilding itself, rebuilding its democracy, because it’s losing people.”

In her book, “Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom” (2017), Rice examines the institution of democracy and several countries that have confronted many of the same stressors we face today. “Democracy’s genius is its openness to change, but its stability comes through institutions that embody constraint,” she writes.

At the breakfast, she stressed the extraordinary ability of the U.S. Constitution to sustain change for nearly 250 years. “Americans think the Constitution is their personal protector,” Rice said. “But my friend said, ‘You Americans, you think just because you have rights you have to exercise them.’ That would be us.”

Rice, who last served in the U.S. government in January 2009, has had time to reflect on her foreign policy successes as well as the countries that continue to pose a challenge to the U.S., including Afghanistan, where she said the U.S. lacked sufficient patience.

“I wonder why we become so impatient with others as they’re trying to make this democratic transition,” she said. “It’s really hard to say to human beings, ‘Put aside tribe, put aside family. You’re not going to care about your interests through these abstractions called institutions.’ That takes some time. I think the Afghan people are paying a terrible price and especially Afghan women are paying a terrible price. All they wanted to do was educate their girls.”

Rice, who shared that her great-grandmother learned to read because she was a slave master’s daughter, said oppressors always go after education. “You keep people from reading, then you can keep them from pursuing their own horizons,” she said. “You deny them that ability to really exercise freedom in a way. That’s what the Taliban did.”

She expressed concern about the United States, noting that democracy depends on an educated citizenry. If children can’t read by the third grade, they’ll likely never read. “There are too many poor kids stuck in bad schools who can’t read,” she said. “It’s a national disgrace.”

Rice warned about China’s technological progress, stating that the United States needs to sustain technological superiority. “Americans will need to work harder and work faster to win in transformational technology,” she said.

While recognizing the benefits of globalization, Rice cautioned that we have to stop ignoring those who’ve been left out. “The good news is that they’re finding their voice in institutions, not outside them,” she said. “We’re in for a wild ride, but we have to do something about so many people being left out. Let them find their voices in institutions.”

Despite global concerns, Rice continues to be optimistic in the future, expressing confidence in our democratic institutions, our collective American story and because of amazing, globally-minded college students like the ones she teaches at Stanford.

“They think if they’ve Googled it, they’ve researched it,” she said. “They come to me and say, ‘I want to be a leader.’ Well, that’s not a destination or a job search. Before you solve that problem, how about you understand it? And my other favorite is, ‘I want my first job to be meaningful.’ No, nobody’s first job is ever meaningful.

“It takes time to develop talents and have experiences — and they’re going to be great. And because of them we will continue to be the most innovative and creative country on the planet.”

The President's Breakfast was covered by Noozhawk and News Channel 3-12.