ms. coates: >> thank you for fascinating perspectives. i don't want to take a lot of time this january because i'm really here to learn. congress has been in session only briefly since brexit took place. they're coming back to work in two weeks. run for your lives. so this will be a real opportunity for us to explore some ideas as both historian and a practitioner of democracy i'm acutely conscious, particularly in recent months, of the challenges that democracy presents. but at the same time, it's been wonderful to see a very positive example of democracy in action, and what we very much want to explore on the hill is the opportunity that this presents to us. and, as ian was talking about the gordian knot, i was thinking about that moment years ago when the young alexander the great was confronted with the knot, his genius idea to slice it in half was only the first step. he then had to go on and conquer asia. so i think brexit can stand as an the moment of the slice, but the conquering of asia is very much what your new essay addresses.