Mary Wright, former U.S. Foreign Service Officer, spoke to students and faculty on "dissent in a democracy" in a forum this past Tuesday sponsored by the BYU-Hawaii College Democrats.
Specifically, Wright spoke on "the role that each one of us has in evaluating what goes on in our country .... You all as citizens have the right, responsibility and obligation to look critically at what your government's doing."
Rather than just "pulling an idea out of your head," Wright encouraged listeners to "do some research and really think long and hard about what's going on and have some rationale on why you're taking the position that you're taking."
"Dissent is patriotic," Wright continued. "Don't ever let anybody try to tell you that just because you're swimming up stream, or you've got a comment that's not what everybody else is saying, that you are unpatriotic.
"Indeed, it's the people that will stand up and say, 'I don't really think the way that everything is going is right, and here are the reasons why'—these are important statements to be made so that everybody else thinks about what really is happening."
Wright cited several examples of important issues on the public agenda, such as education, heath care and social security, that will have a significant impact on the future—especially in the lives of the younger generations.
"It's your responsibility to investigate these things," Wright stated. She further encouraged listeners to email and write their representatives in government about their opinions and concerns.
Wright walks her talk. After a distinguished career of military and public service, she was one of three Foreign Service Officers to resign over their disagreement with the decision to go to war in Iraq without the authorization of the UN Security Council. She has since dissented "publicly and vocally" for the past two years.
Before resigning, Wright served 16 years in the Foreign Service and 29 years in the U.S. Army. She received the State Department’s award for heroism for her actions during the evacuation of 2,500 persons from the civil war in Sierra Leone. She was also on the first State Department team to go to Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2001 to help reopen and serve as the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission. Other overseas assignments included Mongolia, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Grenada, Micronesia and Nicaragua.
Wright also holds master's and law degrees from the University of Arkansas and a master's degree in National Security Affairs from the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. She now lives in Honolulu, writing on current U.S. foreign policy and speaking to university classes and civic groups both domestically and internationally.