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Richard Armitage was the 13th United States Deputy Secretary of State, serving from 2001 to 2005. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War and then after the[…]

Are you striking a healthy balance?

Question: Whom would you interview and what would you ask?

Armitage:    I would have interviewed, I think, the previous Pontiff.  I met him on two occasions.  I was in awe.  I never met a man who had a more kindly face or more piercing eyes.  He would be one.  Mother Teresa would be another.  And I personally would have loved to meet Teddy Roosevelt.  I think I would ask them about their spirituality first of all.  And Mr. Roosevelt particularly, I would ask about his ability after he left office to risk life and limb in exploring the Amazon, which is little known about him.  But just a fabulous saga in the story of one of the great American presidents.

Question: What should we be asking ourselves?

Armitage:    You know I don’t know.  These are all personal matters.  I think if you’re a father and a husband, are you as good as you could possibly be?  I know one day my daughter . . . my second daughter said to me, “Dad, no one ever wished that their tombstone said ‘I wish I had spent another day at the office.’”  So I think that really struck me.  I’ve never forgotten it, and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t regret her having said that to me, or the truth of her comments.  So I think we all need to try to put a little balance in our life, and ask ourselves have we got that balance.


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