Mike Rogers, former congressman for Michigan’s 8th District and for- mer chair of the House Intelligence Committee, spoke to Wofford stu- dents and the Spartanburg commu- nity on Oct. 4 as part of the Hipp Lecture Series on International Af- fairs and National Security.

The series was founded in 2011 to “create signature events at Wofford with the goal of capturing the attention of students and the public while drawing them into important conversations on applying American leadership and ideals to the chal- lenges of international affairs past, present and future,” according to Wofford College’s website.

Rogers’ lecture, “The Importance of the American Dream at Home and Abroad,” was chosen to be part of this series for multiple reasons.

“Given the rising concerns about national security posed by threats from abroad and anxieties regard- ing America’s competitiveness in relation to other nations, Van Hipp felt that Mike Rogers’ expertise on the subject as the former Chair of the House Intelligence Committee would be a timely subject for our students,” said David Alvis, associate professor of government.

Rogers spoke on the threats from North Korea, Russia, China and Iran to the United States’ national securi- ty and how a major issue in this is the literacy crisis going on in Amer- ica.

“In the 8th grade, students in Chi- na are learning quantum mechanics while back in America, 70% of stu- dents cannot read at their grade lev- el,” Rogers said.

With the significant difference in education between the nations, it is becoming increasingly difficult to align our policies. Rogers also asserted that there is also a growth in hatred throughout the media and that as a nation, we have lost focus on the positive and only focus on the negative.

Rogers is a believer in the idea that anyone can make a positive differ- ence if they stand up for what they believe in and do not give up on themselves.

Rogers also sees importance in bringing such issues to a small liber- al arts college.

“In the past, America has had big challenges that allowed us all to re- member what brought us together, which is the idea that in America, we are bigger than our problems,” Rog- ers said. “Recently, we have forgotten that we are bigger than our problems and it has hurt our politics, but we need to remember that we are strong and are not afraid.”

With the supply chain problem and struggles with China, many peo- ple are wondering how it will affect South Carolina’s manufacturing in- dustry.

“We need to continue to produce things here at home; this is the dawn of a new age; we have to build things here and protect what’s here,” Rogers said. “It is not just the capacities, it is the capabilities.”

Rogers’ stop in Spartanburg is part of his travels around the country in the last year, promoting a message of hope in American politics, attempt- ing to promote optimism in our na- tion’s political state.

“We want to ignite the American dream again within people, and let them know that there are doors opening and opportunities for peo- ple that did not exist fifty years ago,” Rogers said. “Candidly, I want Americans to fall in love with Amer- ica again.”

He believes that as long as there is trust in our system, America will continue to prosper.

As a message to college students and the future generations, Rogers wants them to know that every piece of hope is still in America, and that “this is a place that people are risking their lives to get to because some- thing special happens here.”