I am definitely my father’s daughter!

I think for the most part I am really a combination of both my mother and father. I wrote about my jewelry pact with my mother, with whom I spend a great deal of time doing different things (including everything from travelling to pottery and water aerobics). The fire behind the eyes, the passion with which I work, the ability to take charge of a situation, my common sense approach (including the look that everyone who knows me says means a very sarcastic “really….are you serious”), and womanly conservativism (I still believe I posses this despite the fact that she referred to me as her flower child today) come from her. From my father I get my quick wit, fearlessness in trying new things, analytic skills and broad perspective. Whether at a sporting event, watching a movie, MSNBC and FoxNews, or looking at the newest gadgets…it is not uncommon for my father and I to openly debate the merits of just about everything (even the best way home…stoplights or stop signs). My father has a genuine appreciation for a good stinging one liner and will acknowledge a good one. All this debating sometimes catches people off guard, even my mother (who at this point just generally shakes her head). But really, the art of debating is like a family tradition and nothing but love.

So, when I was told that the final in-country project for the class would be a debate, I was a bit excited. We were hosted at the University of Amsterdam by the Debate Institute of the Netherlands. They train politicians, policy makers, and advocates across the Netherlands and were there to host a special session with us about the various tolerance laws implemented in Holland. At first, I was a bit apprehensive because we were given no advanced notice regarding the nature of the topics to be debated. We were divided in to three rotating groups of pro, cons, and jurors. The questions ranged from prostitution, addiction, and harm reduction and I found myself with far too many thoughts in my head to form a rationale statement (yet alone, advocate for or against something that I did not agree with) except on one occasion which I have now been told by a number of people will go down as one of the most unforgettable moments in the history of these student debates.

I was on the jury for the debate based on the notion that the”US should provide illicit drugs to all drug addicts” (or something like that). I listened as each side presented its’ arguments. The pro’s…. addiction is a chemical imbalance, often associated with mental illness, we need to allow for self-determination and dignity in the treatment of the disease. The cons…..honestly I can’t even remember what they said (other than one guys saying “PCP, who really needs PCP”). I was still stuck on the previous group. They also made statements about all the things having the potential for being addictive and that it would benefit both the individual and society for the individual to be given drugs so that they did not seek criminal acts to do so.

Here were my thoughts and interpretation of their position:

· People can be addicted to drugs

· There are any number of things for which a person can be addicted

· It is necessary to give people the things they are addicted to, so they do not have to resort to desperate or illegal acts to fulfill their addictions

After touring the Red Light District, seeing and speaking with prostitutes, and getting our butts kicked in the previous debate about sex workers... I asked,”So, if I were a sex addict would you make sure I was given all the sex I needed? And could you make sure it was from one of those prostitutes that you have been trying to legalize.” Let me tell you….people were cracking up (seriously… HA HA HA HA HA, no kidding). It was a smart a** comment. But people were rollin’ for a good minute, holding their stomachs (one of the instructors said they almost fell out their chair, another said they almost peed on them self).

At the end of the debate, I was given the “Slippery Award “ for the craftiest one liner issued during the debate. While walking back to the hotel, one of the professors said “I thought your comment was hilarious and right on point. What made you think of it? Where did it come from?” My response, “I am definitely my father’s daughter! And, I finally won an award for it.”