John Glenn: still a hero
I had the opportunity last night to hear John Glenn speak at the inaugural event for "Bridges to the Future: American History and Values in Light of September 11th" at the University of Denver. As I think many know, I actively avoided any of the public gatherings/media furor surrounding the anniversary of 9/11, and so attending this was a bit of a stretch for me, but I was interested enough to go anyway, because it was John Glenn. :)
Glenn's keynote address was prefaced by performances of "patriotic pieces" by the university wind ensemble and the Rocky Mountain Children's Choir, a presentation of flags made by a gifted children's center, and introductions by two university presidents and the governor of Colorado. Although I'm certain everything was well-meant, it was all so overtly choreographed and rhetoric-filled (particularly the governor's talk, unfortunately) that by the time Glenn got up to speak, I was bitterly disappointed in the event as a whole and was pondering what this said about the condition of America in general. About thirty seconds later, that was no longer the case.
Glenn speaks with the authority of having had three separate careers of distinguished service (military pilot, astronaut, and 24 years in the Senate), and yet still manages to convey a sense both of humility and of absolute sincerity. He's very charismatic, and communicates well and rather interactively with his audience -- his remarks, although prepared (of course), came across as more spontaneous than staged. He talked first about the space program-- how it had changed over the course of the years from the 60s to present from a focus on "can we do this" to "what can we learn from this;" what sort of research he'd been directly involved in, how he'd been involved, and what had been learned from it; and what it was like to see the earth from space. He gave good practical examples to help people grasp the concept of orbital speed, and described the rapidity of sunsets/sunrises and the fragility of earth's atmosphere and how it must be protected. He also shared a bit about playing in space -- particularly fascinating was the description of creating a "water ball" held together solely by the surface tension of the water, and what fun could be had with something like that.
One of the things Glenn mentioned in discussing the space program was the sense of international community and team camaraderie that came from it, and he brought that up again during the next part of his speech, in which he talked about recent events w/r/t terrorism and Iraq. I'm not certain that I can describe what an overwhelming sense of relief it brought to hear such a figure frankly express grave concern for the current situation (and yet, without really attacking or denigrating administration policy) along with specific thoughts on what should be considered and done, and what war would actually mean to America, to Iraq, and to the rest of the world. Glenn talked about the world's view of America, w/r/t our foreign policy decisions and our culture, and was clear that America is not perfect -- that we did bear some responsibility and needed to understand that. He addressed the need for improving intelligence information and for strengthening ties with our allies rather than taking a "we can go it alone" stance, with discussion of some possible repercussions otherwise. He talked about what sorts of things could happen in a war with Iraq, and how it would be a long process that would need nationwide support for the long haul, and urged -- not necessarily that we not go to war, but that everything be carefully considered and discussed in Congress, rather than rushed through to a quick decision without enough forethought, in order that the consequences of war, if undertaken, be fully understood. He also pointed out that, in his opinion, the face of the current military needed to be changed -- that recruitment practices today had a tendency to draw disproportionately from economically-disadvantaged social strata, and that this should NOT be the case, but that representation/responsibility should fall equally across the board, and touched on the idea of a national service requirement (not necessary military, but something). He mentioned that he was aware that some of his thoughts/ideas were controversial, but did not let that stop him from sharing them.
Glenn finished up his address by talking about having observed a growing level of apathy and cynicism towards politics and government in general developing in recent years, particularly among the generations since Vietnam, and expressed concern about that as well. He talked about having founded the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy as a response to that and as a way to encourage involvement among people of all ages. Considering his own tradition of service, it's not surprising that Glenn would believe this to be important, but he was so very earnest, bright-eyed, enthusiastic, and optimistic that it was infectious and rather inspirational, as well.
The evening ended on an upswing, and the crowd response was very heartwarming. I'm trying to get a copy of the transcript, as I know I've left out a lot (probably to the great relief of anyone who is still reading this extremely lengthy post), and will put up a link if/when I can. In any case, I was so very glad I went to this event -- I've always absolutely admired John Glenn, and I just wanted to share the story of how one of my own personal heroes lived up to the name. :)
Glenn's keynote address was prefaced by performances of "patriotic pieces" by the university wind ensemble and the Rocky Mountain Children's Choir, a presentation of flags made by a gifted children's center, and introductions by two university presidents and the governor of Colorado. Although I'm certain everything was well-meant, it was all so overtly choreographed and rhetoric-filled (particularly the governor's talk, unfortunately) that by the time Glenn got up to speak, I was bitterly disappointed in the event as a whole and was pondering what this said about the condition of America in general. About thirty seconds later, that was no longer the case.
Glenn speaks with the authority of having had three separate careers of distinguished service (military pilot, astronaut, and 24 years in the Senate), and yet still manages to convey a sense both of humility and of absolute sincerity. He's very charismatic, and communicates well and rather interactively with his audience -- his remarks, although prepared (of course), came across as more spontaneous than staged. He talked first about the space program-- how it had changed over the course of the years from the 60s to present from a focus on "can we do this" to "what can we learn from this;" what sort of research he'd been directly involved in, how he'd been involved, and what had been learned from it; and what it was like to see the earth from space. He gave good practical examples to help people grasp the concept of orbital speed, and described the rapidity of sunsets/sunrises and the fragility of earth's atmosphere and how it must be protected. He also shared a bit about playing in space -- particularly fascinating was the description of creating a "water ball" held together solely by the surface tension of the water, and what fun could be had with something like that.
One of the things Glenn mentioned in discussing the space program was the sense of international community and team camaraderie that came from it, and he brought that up again during the next part of his speech, in which he talked about recent events w/r/t terrorism and Iraq. I'm not certain that I can describe what an overwhelming sense of relief it brought to hear such a figure frankly express grave concern for the current situation (and yet, without really attacking or denigrating administration policy) along with specific thoughts on what should be considered and done, and what war would actually mean to America, to Iraq, and to the rest of the world. Glenn talked about the world's view of America, w/r/t our foreign policy decisions and our culture, and was clear that America is not perfect -- that we did bear some responsibility and needed to understand that. He addressed the need for improving intelligence information and for strengthening ties with our allies rather than taking a "we can go it alone" stance, with discussion of some possible repercussions otherwise. He talked about what sorts of things could happen in a war with Iraq, and how it would be a long process that would need nationwide support for the long haul, and urged -- not necessarily that we not go to war, but that everything be carefully considered and discussed in Congress, rather than rushed through to a quick decision without enough forethought, in order that the consequences of war, if undertaken, be fully understood. He also pointed out that, in his opinion, the face of the current military needed to be changed -- that recruitment practices today had a tendency to draw disproportionately from economically-disadvantaged social strata, and that this should NOT be the case, but that representation/responsibility should fall equally across the board, and touched on the idea of a national service requirement (not necessary military, but something). He mentioned that he was aware that some of his thoughts/ideas were controversial, but did not let that stop him from sharing them.
Glenn finished up his address by talking about having observed a growing level of apathy and cynicism towards politics and government in general developing in recent years, particularly among the generations since Vietnam, and expressed concern about that as well. He talked about having founded the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy as a response to that and as a way to encourage involvement among people of all ages. Considering his own tradition of service, it's not surprising that Glenn would believe this to be important, but he was so very earnest, bright-eyed, enthusiastic, and optimistic that it was infectious and rather inspirational, as well.
The evening ended on an upswing, and the crowd response was very heartwarming. I'm trying to get a copy of the transcript, as I know I've left out a lot (probably to the great relief of anyone who is still reading this extremely lengthy post), and will put up a link if/when I can. In any case, I was so very glad I went to this event -- I've always absolutely admired John Glenn, and I just wanted to share the story of how one of my own personal heroes lived up to the name. :)