My mom works for a broadcasting company that has the ABC and NBC television affiliates in this area. They were corporate sponsors of an event for the Uncommon Friends Foundation
You can see what they are all about here:
http://www.uncommonfriends.org/index.html
Anyhow, they are introducing a "Legacy Speakers" series and their first speaker was NBC News Anchor Tom Brokaw. The format was an hour lecture and then 30 min. of Q&A with questions submitted by the audience.
His talk was really about many of the things he's witnessed that have been watershed moments in world history but he also talked about where we are going and what the US needs to do to get there. It was an incredible talk. At times, moving my wife to tears and welling up emotions in all. He really spent some time focusing on our soldiers abroad. His focus in telling of some of the young service men and women that he's met was the idea that we, as average americans, have sacraficed little while asking these men and women, as well as their families, to sacrafice everything. His point was that, as these conflicts come to a conclusion and these families are reunited with their loved ones, we must not leave them hanging or let our veterans be neglected. This is the time to come together, no matter your feelings about the wars or the reasons they've been waged. We are in this together and we should be appreciative of our service men and women. His talk was inspiring. He also gave a message that spoke of civic responsibility and a sense of giving back. I really enjoyed it.
It was also great that this was given on the campus of my school. I had my wife meet me there. I finished my psych class and met her out front. It was like a mid-week bonus "date night".
If you should ever get the chance to hear Brokaw speak, please do yourself a favor and go. He's a fantastic speaker. NO NOTES whatsoever. It was incredibly well thought out and delivered flawlessly.
At the end, he considered the audience questions. I was honored that my question was the first one presented to him. I asked him his take on media having a so called "liberal bias". His answer was actually remarkable. He said he has a bit of a theory. People get into news for a variety of reasons. One of these is to give voice to those who do not have one. This makes the establishment uncomfortable. News people also are in the business of reporting "news" which by it's very definition includes new things whether good or bad and new, by nature, means change. "Conservatism" by it's very nature is invested in keeping the status quo, and tends to resist change and newness. So, it's easy for people to immediately call the news liberally biased. He also pointed out that with the advances in media that there's basicly now a cable smorgassboard of news for all political pallates. It was an interesting theory and one I'd never heard articulated before.
As I say, a great night. We bought his book "Boom" about the 1960's. I'm looking forward to reading it. Too bad we weren't able to get it signed.
I really look forward to the next speaker they announce for this series. If it's even half as good, it should be well worth an evening's time.
An Evening with Tom Brokaw
by CoonDawg 1 Replies latest jw friends
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CoonDawg
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BizzyBee
That must have been a thrill, CoonDawg, to hear him in person. He seems like a good guy and that was an interesting answer he gave to your question. Now I will look for Boom.