Reprinted from the Bennington Banner, Tuesday, October 11, 2005.

by PATRICK G. RHEAUME

Staff Writer

NORTH BENNINGTON, Vt. — A prominent British politician and businessman arrived at Bennington College last week to become chairman of the advisory committee for the Democracy Project.

Richard Holme, the Lord of Cheltenham and a leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of the United Kingdom, also visited several classrooms and spoke on Thursday at a discussion in the Usdan Gallery with college president Elizabeth Coleman and nearly 200 students.

World’s perception of U.S.

Among the most important questions raised was the perception of the United States in global politics and economy. Holme pointed out that during a recent summit in  South Africa, representatives of many nations booed then-Secretary of State Colin Powell and cheered for Robert Mugabe, the dictatorial leader of Zimbabwe.

This type of behavior represents “a crude cartoon version of the world,” Holme said. But it remains a perception to which American leaders have nevertheless contributed. “It’s very hard to spread democracy at the tip of a precision-guided missile,” he said, adding that many people throughout the world compare Osama Bin Ladin favorably with Robin Hood.

Must be tough on terrorism

“You’ve got to be very tough on terrorism,” he said. “But you also have to show that the United States is on the side of the world.”

Holme added that other countries could benefit from the Anglo-American heritage of capitalism and democracy. Many nations in central Europe, he said, have started to emphasize deregulation and a free-market approach to economics.

Lord Holme first came to Bennington in March for a conference on “Living Democracy: Perspectives from South Africa.” He continues to be chancellor of the University of Greenwich, a visiting professor at the Thunderbird Business School in Arizona, and chairman and co-founder of the English College in Prague. He also serves as chairman of Lead International, a group that trains young leaders for sustainable development, and The Royal African Society, which Holme called “a meeting place for the African Diaspora.” He looks forward to his advisory role in the Democracy Project, which intends to make the study of democracy the center of an education for students seeking to extend and deepen their understanding of the world.

“I’ve always liked Bennington College, and I like what it stands for,” Holme said during an interview on Friday. “This isn’t a place that puts creativity in one box and democracy in another.”

Artists important to nations

He said that countries need to depend on the talents of their artists, as well as their government officials and businessmen.

“There’s been a new symbiosis that takes advantage of the traditional independence of the arts,” he said. “Which takes the issue of democracy back from being a narrowly-based political science.”

Visiting North Bennington has not been all work for Lord Holme. Early Friday morning, along with 15 students from the college, he went swimming at Lake Paran.