The Lawyer at work for the first time

A guy from the US came down to college to lecture us on US politics and the entire law making process in the states, the whole lobbying thing etc.and how laws are made etc. Pretty funky, I didn't know any of it earlier. You see I started really reading the papers and keeping my eyes open a couple of months back. I always wanted to be that way but it never really happened before. Anyways I'm glad, finally I'll be wise and I'll know the world I live in. Funky. God I say funky so often.

He spoke of how if a country wanted US foreign policy to be in it's favour, it was not enough for the leaders of the country to go n talk to president coz he can't do anything and so what you have to do is get together with the people who lobby. And he insisted that that was the reason why US favoured Israel and not the Arab world, coz Israel played it's cards right by getting the lobbying groups that supported the Israel cause to get the congress to do what they wanted. He said that when Israeli leadership is in the US on official visit they don't first meet the President but the lobby groups that support them. While on the other hand when Arab country leaders came they only visited the President and so...sigh...the current state of affairs.

In short it's not like the President will do as you say because you're the leader of your country. What matters is how to get the lobbying sysytem to work for you. But alas from what I know, our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh does exactly what doesn't work. Honestly what we do is not pragmatic but yes it is idealistic. The US works that way coz the leaders aren't really leaders, they don't decide in terms of what's good for them or the world. They just do what vested interests choose for them to do. As the guy put it they're not leaders, they're representatives. But if you need to get things done then I guess you be pragmatic, if that's the kind of people you're dealing with. Like the guy said humans are not angels......

High time we started lobbying......

So this was the lawyer at work for the first time. I just remembered the guys name - Mr. Akram. Just realised I've been so rude throughout the blog. That too to the man I owe my first work to. Thank You Sir.