By Nathan Sacks

As Etgar 36 nears its end, it seems that the days become more packed with intense and enlightening meetings. We got on the bus for our first meeting at the Heritage Foundation. They are a lobbying group dedicated to preserving the conservative values of this nation and ensuring the continuing conservative aspects in modern legislation. They spoke primarily on trickle-down economics and a smarter, more comprehensive welfare system. On the former issue, they believe the bailout was a tremendous waste of government funds. Concerning the latter, they try and encourage those on welfare to get jobs, and they claim to have reduced welfare dependency from 5 million people to 1.5 million.

Next on the list of important people to meet was my local Congressman, an immensely respected leader from the Civil Rights movement, Representative John Lewis. Unfortunately, the meeting was cut short due to security procedures – the Prime Minister of China’s motorcade arrived at the Capitol when we were supposed to meet on the capitol steps. Despite this setback, he discussed his role in the Civil Rights movement, its impact on today, and his thoughts on President Barack Obama.

in front of the Supreme Court	at the Capitol	talking with Congressman John Lewis

After a quick lunch at a local Chinese restaurant, a meeting with Greenpeace was in order. As a staunch environmentalist and Democrat, I found myself agreeing with most of the goals of the organization, but on several occasions I found their approach too liberal. The main issues of their concern were global warming, deforestation, and protection of the oceans. The organization works with many global businesses, such as Coca-Cola, to help introduce ideas that help the world ecologically.

at Greenpeace

Our final formal meeting of the day was with the advocacy group founded by the lead singer of U2, Bono. This group, the One Campaign, is committed to improving the lives of people living in the poorest places on the planet, particularly in Africa. They discussed ways all of us can get involved to help the world in ways that involve our time and who we are, not just our wallets.

with the One Campaign

continue to part 2