Former U.S. Ambassador Chris Hill is talking tonight (March 17) at 6 p.m. at the Mildred Sainier Pavilion at New College in Sarasota. He has a new book out, "Outpost:Life on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy: A Memoir."
Hill served in South Korea, the Balkans and Iraq. And now serves as Dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver.
With regard to ISIS in Iraq, he said there isn't "much scope" for diplomacy with them. He said the diplomacy comes in in trying to organize a coalition against ISIS, "but some of those coalition's partners may be less inclined to do it than others."
So is there one aspect of diplomacy that everyday people can use to improve their lives?
In Hill's words, "One of the big issues in diplomacy is this idea of using social media and sort of standing off and saying very tough-minded things either toward or about the other side. And I think generally speaking in diplomacy, it's best not to say things publicly, because they're much harder to take back and they can also cause a lot more ill will than you think. Diplomacy works best when it's done directly and I should say, perhaps a little quietly."
Hill is also scheduled to do a book signing at Bookstore1 in Sarasota Thursday, March 19th at 6 p.m.
