Media Matters and Other Matters
Last night I found myself in the living room of an elderly Georgetown couple's home for reasons too complicated to explain. Also in attendance at this salon of sorts were a few acquaintances of theirs, one erudite young Media Matters watchdog there to give a small presentation about the group's noble work, and one lovely Brunch Bird reader who shall remain nameless unless she 'fesses up. Most striking about the evening was the conversation that prefaced the official presentation, between the more senior attendees. It involved serving in World War II, working in Nairobi for the U.N., and playing poker with LBJ aboard the presidential yacht, the U.S.S. Sequoia. It was at that moment that I realized our generation has a lot of living left to do.
posted by Brunch Bird at Thursday, November 16, 2006
6 Comments:
I'd love to play poker with LBJ. woo hoo!!
It will come as no surprise that LBJ was apparently quite the bluffer. Incidentally, I think I've had dreams where I play Yahtzee with Chester A. Arthur. Does that count?
That is so true. Sounds like a very interesting night.
My uncle does film developing and camera work for a very prestigious arts college and through him I have had the opportunity to meet some incredible older photographers & photojournalists and we have grown up in a radically different way than they did.
Its amazing. Although I would say that 2000-present day has been pretty damn crazy!!
the evening was truly even more bizarre than you suggest. the only character missing was a journalist from kazakhstan.
you forgot the part of the evening when the young man sitting next to you covertly arranged his cell phone in his lap, typed out "want to get a drink when this is over?" and tilted the screen in your direction. i can't take you *anywhere*!
"Your generation" IS doing a lot of living. It's the youngsters kicking in doors in Fallujah doing it.
A good point, but the value of this generation will not be solely judged by what happens in Fallujah or Iraq in general. I think the real lasting legacy of the so-called greatest generation was how they accepted their reality and worked tirelessly to make the best of it. They were dealt Pearl Harbor and America's entry into World War II, and they went in droves to fight, and defeat, fascism. They returned home and used their GI Bill benefits to educate themselves and raise families, building the nation into a superpower. And so on. Our generation will be defined, not by what we have done to this point, but how bravely and productively we faces the challenges before us. Sept. 11 was our Pearl Harbor, and the timeline by which we will be judged is far from over.
That said, yes, those men and women in uniform surely deserve our thanks and support, whatever your view on the war.
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