In on-air and living room conversations, many have asked, "How
will we make it through this election cycle up to November without Tim?" The sudden death of Tim
Russert, NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and moderator of "Meet the Press," still grieves us and will for a long time. As I write this, family and friends eulogize him. They loved him deeply, and they know he loved them deeply, and maybe first.
In this electoral and political season, how will political reporters, analysts, self-named "political junkies," and all voters
make it through the months leading up to November without Tim Russert's irreplaceable delivery of facts and questions about the most important issues and candidates facing
the United States at this time?
I believe that Tim Russert's colleagues, and there are many outstanding ones, will continue to do as well as they ever have, and probably even better than that into the future. I believe that some will drop their personal biases if they conflict with applying at work more of what Tim's example taught them. We have an imperfect and yet amazing press in this country.
Three key contributions that I urge us to follow from Tim Russert's
professional life are (1) the state of staying informed and, therefore, prepared, (2) the habit of always questioning astutely, and
(3) the habit of listening keenly.
Staying informed automatically assumes learning facts, continually. This requires study and preparation, continually. Knowledge feeds preparation and preparation
feeds knowledge.
Awareness of history undergirds knowledge. It is important
to learn more about the historical context of the times we live in. This morning
during an early news show, I heard a young journalist say that he is not
concerned about how things were handled just after WWII, regarding those
arrested on war crimes charges.
"I live in 2008," he said. Now is all he cares about. I see
his point, but it lacks knowledge. If, for example, voters way into the future of 2088 would not
understand facts about the times of 1938, 1948, and 2008, how could they assess accurately
how best to handle the most important issues and needs of their day, of 2088? I think they
would have a shallow well of information to help them.
Remembering Tim Russert, his colleagues have emphasized his unyielding habits of reading, studying, and preparing. I think we need to follow that example. As with him, it includes the benefits of studying our nation's history, and I suggest going from 1608
until now.
Questioning was another of Tim Russert's strong
suits. He used each question for follow-up with another. He kept digging for
what was authentic and honest.
To answer how we will get through this presidential election
cycle, leading up to November, I think we need to look at these questions:
Do
we know the questions to ask?
Are we willing to learn?
Are we asking the hard
questions of others and of ourselves?
Are we willing to ask questions no matter
where they lead?
Are we willing to question everyone, not just those we do not
like or agree with?
Are we willing to ask the hard questions of those we most
admire and want to win?
Listening was the third most significant professional
trait I heard Tim Russert's colleagues emphasize. He listened well. This is a skill much in need today, personally and on the job. Tim Russert remembered because he was paying attention all the time. This quality impressed "Meet the Press" guests who sat across the table from
him or interviewees who sat across any space from him as presidents, politicians, and other public figures.
I was listening to a political ad the other day, in which a mother asked about the future of her baby boy, if the U. S. has service people in Iraq for 100 years. Her question centered on the idea that if the U. S. is "in Iraq" for 100 years, then wouldn't her son have to go there, into harm's way? The unspoken inference was, "yes, he would be forced to go to Iraq ." But that is an incorrect inference. If you think about it, know all the facts about military requirements, and have listened for a while, you and I know it is incorrect.
If her son grows up and does not volunteer for military service of his own free will and choice, then she can be guaranteed almost 100% that her son would never go. The only instance in which he might have to go would be if a draft were to be instituted. Even then, he would have to do service, but not necessarily in Iraq. It would happen only in that case if there were a draft and if he were in the target age group for that draft.
If we do not listen and question, we will assume that the little boy faces an inevitable future in Iraq if certain results occur this November. If we do listen and question, we can see that the ad's intent is to throw in the fear about a certainty that he would have to go, which is inaccurate and which has not been the case for over 50 years of U. S. military presence in Europe and Japan, not to mention its current presence in Bosnia and other places.
We must know the facts, question the questioner, and listen...and question more.
There is a fourth quality, a personal one, which I think we
need during this election cycle, leading up to November. A vital, confident Christian faith fed Tim Russert's life, relationships, and work. Through his family beginning with his mother and father, "Big Russ," his community
growing up in Buffalo, his schools under the tutelage of nuns, and his Catholic
church, he learned and lived in Christian faith.
Faith like that dispels fears. There need be no
fear about this election cycle, if we live in faith, which means we not only say it but we live it. I am concerned and deeply interested that each
one of us does our best. However, whatever the outcome, I have no fear. We may face harder times than we have seen since 2001 as a people, yet fear would cripple us. We need faith in God and caring for each other in deeds as well as words.
We change presidents every four
or eight years. We have a congress that is supposed to live up to its duties fairly
and responsibly, checking itself at every step as well. However, we cannot trust them to know what is right every time. We need faith not in them but in God
U. S. citizens have
no need for a slogan like "power to the people." It is a non-starter, for we
know that the power of our country is already and innately residing in "all the
people all the time" by the document that founded this nation of people,
mutually concerned for each other in a free and democratic system. "The people" placed "in God we trust" on our coins as a statement that we value the material only so far. We need more.
In this election cycle, you and I can become more informed, we can question more,
and we can listen…continually. I believe that if you and I do this, with minds
willing to hear the best and the worst about anyone we may be considering
casting our vote for, we will do well. We will weigh the issues and the
candidates, putting the nation's interests before our own special interests,
and we will vote. If we do not get it right this time, it will not be the first
time we have failed to do so. However, we always hope we will. I hope we do
this time, and I hope print, Internet, radio, and television journalists rise to their best by helping us know whatever
is there to know…the best and the worst of any side.
Somewhere along the way, I mentioned faith and love. Perfect love casts out fear. God's love is immeasurable and immeasurably faithful. May we, like Tim Russert, do our best by each other and by our country. May we love others and our country more than we love ourselves. I think if we go along that way, becoming informed and prepared, questioning, and listening--we will do just fine, now and into the future. There are lots of us to pull together, to pray for whomever becomes president of the United States, and to pray for the least among us. |
