>> i tried to write-down some thoughts hopefully you will come up with a better understanding of the book and

an interest in it i will start by taking a amended to they could people who made this possible first and foremost are the formidable men to my left i can guarantee each and every one had a better offer how to spend their evening and i sincerely appreciate it so thank you to admirable so many and it to read and paul to launch the. next thanks to the people who were behind the scenes the staff here at st. chris and a publicist most writers can only dream of a you may write that down in case you ever published a book. i want to thank all of you for coming here tonight because i know we have busy schedules and in the summer we look forward to the quiet evenings enjoying the great outdoors but that is usually a tree

because people like we can come up with nifty ways for you to spend your evenings and doors inside the air-conditioning so thank you for your time and i have been asked a lot of questions about this book but was it like to meet the men how did you pick which men would be in it and how long did take you to put it together and my favorite is you did this? [laughter] but the other is why, why did you decide to read this book? there are many reasons and the reasons i wrote are the same as the reasons that brought you here tonight. if you do not know i am the proud mother and step mother of five sons and one daughter so i have had the benefit of paper rose seat to watching young men grow up with a range in age from seven through 24 and what i have seen the is

the message of what defines true greatness is harder and harder for our boys to come by if there was a time gone by when men of one generation past wisdom down in formally whether working on a car with dad are spending time fishing or family dinner which riyal desperately want but i can never seem to make happen but those ideas seem quaint like some sort of relic from the past. my dad looked up to men whether men in his life or on the screen my boys or your boys are probably looking up to other boys. do look at them with the most popular movies are popular music that beg to the average age of the star is 19. whether popular culture rather

fast pace of our life a something else i have not been able to put my finger on there is a lot of truth and wisdom that i thought was getting lost in the easter but what our boys desperately needed because in its place is an overwhelming amount of government that i think our boys are asked to buy into if you're a parent, grandparent were breathing human being i can tell you our kids are growing up in a media saturated culture where the emphasis is a physical appeal, material wealth or celebrity status so see if this sounds familiar real men don't cry comment they collect women like trinkets, they show power over others, there vulgar and real men look out for number one. we are here tonight because of these messages and etfs we know we will not get anywhere talked-about how bad

edits -- as it is and i can do it all night long but i will not do that and i will tell you why because i think the real reason that i am here and in the real reason that you are here is our profound faith and the goodness in potential of young not dacia and men and that they are capable and deserving of some much better than they are being led to believe. these are the same little boys dressed like superman and batman and super heroes. they were here to save the world and even if that dream of theirs has been pushed aside we know the super hero is there. little point* sized table wearing a super hero is alive in there somewhere. so we are here. these men are here and in this book is here to remind them of their really are and what they can achieve to give them a

nudge in the right direction. it is not a promise of seven easy steps to manhood but does offer the possibility something in its pages will inspire my sons and your sons and grandson's to imagine larger possibilities as they search to define manhood by themselves i can make that claim because i was lucky enough to bring together some of the finest men in this country has to offer and asked them to tell me what they're really means to be a man and from courage, leadership, anger, co mpassion, faith, they have given their answers and they have come together in the book and here tonight to stand for something, stand up for these young men who we how such profound faith. so i think it is time that eye hand the floor over to them and i will begin by giving you

a peek inside the book and to tell you a little more about the man to my left admirable leighton smith. the book is laid out for those of you who don't know there is a picture and a by all but i also wrote the editors know because i thought these men were so terrific i wanted everybody to get to know them people hear the word four-star admiral and picture a no-nonsense fellow long on rules and short on humor and if you're one of those people you are in for a surprise. admiral smith is known for his extraordinary ability to deal with rapid the changing complex political and military environments and of the most difficult conditions but also gregarious, a quick with a joke and unbelievably cold. -- humbled it is easy to forget you're in the same man

that was naked in a private audience with queen elisabeth served in bosnia, the commander of chief of allied forces, southern europe simultaneously. frankly he seems like that everybody wants them at their table for dinner which is true. heat before becoming highly decorated four-star admiral he came close to not wearing the uniform also is my pleasure to present to admiral leighton smith [applause] >> you are very kind. i love that introduction. what kelly failed to tell you might alternate employment is a pig farmer. [laughter] when you have the choice to

study harder or raise a 60 pigs guess what you take? i will get to that in a minute. why did i become involved in this project? were a lot of reasons the first of which her father is a classmate at the naval academy and classmates are special he wrote an e-mail and said get over it because my have a still on his farm and got caught. [laughter] it was not me it was my dad. he asked me if i would indicate a thought or question your request from his daughter and as a classmate the only answer i could give him was yes. that i got this message from kelly and i was intrigued and i also knew my good friend john ripley who regrettably is not here tonight he died in

november. we talked about this book and this wonderful idea happen-- having an idea is not easy there are thousands of ideas for datebook but 999 billion on not worth a darn and two or three are good and you want to be part of that action and kelly's idea is good and it has merit. so we decided, all of us separately it would be a worthwhile endeavor certainly an investment of our time to become involved with the project that has such a noble goal. over a year or two however long it took to get it going and done, it seemed like a lifetime i used to go to the academy frequently because i was on the board of trustees and john ripley lived in annapolis so we would get together. and he is not here to tell you about his store by can tell

you how he got involved. but you have to read his essay on courage and not another man is better qualified to talk on courage they and john ripley. he was in vietnam on easter sunday 1970 something 12 hand over hand trips like this under a bridge that was built by another classmate of hours several years earlier to plant charges then he took the blasting caps in his teeth hand over hand and implanted them. all the while the underwriter and he destroyed this bridge and that prevented a large number of north vietnamese soldiers coming into the south and literally destroying everything in their path.

i think he should have won the medal of honor for that but he did not. but he has written wonderful words-- when the words brokerage the visible courage which he has demonstrated that he talked about moral courage which is a little more difficult. it takes a lot of guts because a lot of times people want you to go down a path because that is what everybody is doing. and john says sometimes it is time to say no. i am not that kind of person and i do not want to do with those people or associate with those people. so you turn away or walk away from those people who try to lead you the wrong way. that is john ripley i do not want to take his place are presumed to be near as good an individual but i wanted to give him a little time because i know he would be here if he were alive.

for me, my story is rather simple. everybody i met prior to going to the naval academy assured me i would never succeed. teachers and high-school but went to to get letters of recommendation which in those days the appointments were political. i have 63 letters of recommendation because my family was big in alabama. we do not have any money but we had a good name but every single teacher said you are not as today. you will not make it i will write a letter because you are a nice guy but i am sorry. i went off university of alabama for one year and i got the phone call i had the academy appointment while standing in a large hallway at the fraternity house. i was excited as i could be when i told all of my fraternity brothers about this

great news they looked at me like i had two heads. what have you done? you will never make it up there. my father, a god love him, he said to me time and time again. i know you give your best effort, but if you fail we will welcome you home with open arms. meeting you will have a tough and you will probably not make it but i want you to try anyway. he was a wonderful man but the message was sending did not become clear until much later. i know john was not a very good student and i was terrible but into the academic year i got a note to report to the comment on, the navy captain, number two guy at the naval academy. his job basically was to tell people you are out of here and i figure that is exactly what he was going to tell me and i

was actually petrified broke by waited outside of his office until i was told to come in. he told me to relax. here right. he said you have a problem here. you are on psat in three subjects and a letter d in the other two and we only took five subjects. [laughter] i said nablus spending too much time on those to the i got the letter d. he said what is your problem? the answer was part was supposed to say i will find out. he said no. that's is not the question are the upperclassmen treating you partially? i thought no more so than anybody else, are the instructors giving you the help that you need? my late answer was yes.

they have given me all but i have asked for then he said words i shall never forget he said you can do this. i said yes, sir, he said you have 10 days to become sapped in all subjects or you will be back in this office. the good news and the bad news is i was walking out of the office but the bad news hour probably go back and but i thought to myself i am in charge of my life. while everybody else tell me i would fail and i believed it and i believed it was okay to fail and i had given up on myself because i was not a good student and never had been or maybe never would be. but i thought it was okay to go home. to fail. and i decided in the office i am in charge. i am the guy that will decide what happens to my life not

fraternity brothers, i will be in charge of my wife and i took charge and i went and got help from classmates, instructors, and a few other people. and i made it. i was talking to my wife last night she has heard this story a number of times but what she did not know it is the words you can do this how many times in my life i have been in a situation where i have had to call on those words to convince myself that i can do this. paul galanti knows what it is like to sit on the business end of the catapults on your first night when your life lashes in front of your eyes and you think this is the craziest thing a man can do a blast out of the dark sky then when i give up there i have to land this thing and my last

words to myself i promise you as i turned on the lights, you can to this. and after the shot i said, but you well better be right. [laughter] ladies and gentlemen, i got involved in this book because i want my grandson's in anybody else's grandson's to have the opportunity to read about a guy who had given up on himself of finally realized who is in charge, took charge, and did something with it and i hope a lot of people read it and thank you for being with you tonight and thank you so much [applause] >> admiral smith came from north carolina and our next speaker is coming to us from

old dominion university where he is an assistant professor and i want to read my editor's note about my dear friend tim seibles. he looks like a ballplayer he will stand up and a minute, a tall, and a broad shouldered and he dreamed of playing in the nfl and pursue that dream to southern methodist university where he earned a spot on the team is a walk on but ultimately his dreams took him in another direction but still the size of the athleticism remains sicken only imagine a startled look he would receive when he tells people he is a poet. of course, that goes to show how little most of us know about poetry. his poems crackle and vibrate his is not the poetry of vandam quote. >> of bear review, "the somber

cello but a melody you have heard somewhere that follow you home" end quote. moving on a sea of syncopated rhythms he reaches across generations with the unvarnished truth about what it means to be alive as an american as a black man and as a human being. how did he get there? how did this kid that grew up in the turf war of the infamous dog town make his way to becoming not simply a survivor but an acclaimed poet and a university professor and having come so far? what does he know for sure? i am honored to introduce the ku list coed i know. professor tim seibles [applause] >> . >> thank you very much it is an honor to be here with such

an esteemed and remarkable company and i appreciate the introduction. one of the questions kelly had asked us to answer it is why we said yes to the project and discussing the essay that was written in the most important thing to me was a chance to reach people who why would never meet. certainly kids, particularly boys that were robbed at the seven -- same time with demons but under different circumstances but a time to establish a lifetime for lack of a better term for the young brothers, young latinos, working-class white boys, whatever, kids whose circumstances in many respects are discouraging. it is pretty easy to see the

world in miserable terms depending on your neighborhood and it is easy to give up on your life and say whenever i will just along and get along and see what happens then maybe someday something positive will happen but we all know positive things or those good things do not happen accidentally. in becoming a part of this but i was able to say this is one board to give the young man a look at one of the possibilities that made it possible. given the way that hollywood operates, i think a lot of men especially look at the television screen and say that is not my world. but is -- that is not really

going to happen to me i this a beecher of the gentleman sitting to my left by this is what really happens these are the circumstances that somebody actually lived through a arrow told police through some hard work and good luck we're able to make something good a year-round large happen. what i would like to do is just read a little taste of my s.a. -- sa then i will turn the floor over or turn the stage over. i do not want to turn the floor over. [laughter] i will just read this i don't think it will take too long but i feel it is going long i will jump around it is called a hard-headed. i grew up in philadelphia in

the turf of dog town a gang with a reputation ruthlessness i saw the war lords i can remember his name that you have that i know i am bad luck in his eyes and big biceps that made it pretty clear he could probably back that look up. luckily i lived there so of one of the soldiers ever stop to me to ask where you from? meeting was part of town or which gang, i could say right around the corner and be pretty sure there would not be any beef. most of life and sanjaya thought it was stupid to be people or kill them because they lived in a different neighborhood but a corner gang is a serious business if you did not want you're but kicked or worse you had to pay attention to where you were prepared did have a friend who was a member of another gang

we were not close but knew each other from tenth grade english and clowned around some. the hanes st. mark was a blended h and s which made a dollar sign he'd do it on the school desk, and his clothes you'd also see a spray-painted on the sides of buses that drove through their turf. one afternoon after school i was sitting at the bus stop and one of the hanus street heads walked up to me he was usually out of school and a full time getting member we did not call them gangsters in the movies they were pinstripe suits and carried machine guns and that told the fbi. this guy comes up to me wearing a small golden dollar sign during and asks, where you from? he had aids big scar going

from his cheek to his chin like he was slashed in the face not too long ago. was closer to hanes street band of town so i answered nowhere which was a way to back down without looking like a chump per carona usually this was enough you let the tough guy show his power then he would let you slide peacefully but he responded, it seems like no where it is getting to be a pretty big corner as if it was another gang that meant i was not going to give a normal break for of course, i was and bytes before but not with a gang member or with an old head and things were looking pretty bad i thought i would get knocked down but at worst i could get stabbed breaking the old heads did this kind of thing to make sure nobody thought they had gone soft. he must've seen the fear in my

eyes but i could not run the adjustment i would get my but kicked another day fighting may have gotten me respecter may be just the early stomped right than and there. i was thinking fast only a few seconds had passed were out of nowhere jeff walked up with him go, he is cool. and he left me alone. stones a full name, was headstone because according to jeff, he had killed somebody broke it was simple locker was in class with jeff and real lucky had been nearby when stone was ready to pounce. he told me later headstone ended up in a wheelchair because of a gunshot wound. bluenose was star's it would have had today if it was not for jeff. who knows if i would even be here at all?

i mention this story not only to show my teenage years were life and give jeff credit for stepping year at -- stepping a by have thought of all of the young brothers like him that were crippled or imprisoned or dead or proton drugs because they believed to being a hard guy was a cool way to roll. no doubt their friends have a lot to do with the reason they took that road. schools are not always ideal places for learning. i had classmates that struggled than just gave up and sometimes schools make it hard to dream. are also no but if you are black or brown the challenges you face are in most cases different than those faced by your white counterparts especially how prejudice can either way of bigotry but i also know before someone turns into a stone, he half's to

lose sight of himself. he has to give up on the idea he may become something positive for imports and. i do not suggest this means happen suddenly but the erosion of believe in self take place over a number of years with visible and invisible waves however so feel certain that having faith in yourself and a sense of your own worth does not come easily or suddenly there. there are things you have to fight for every day in spite of the fact that the world is big and on fair and in many ways makes it different to see things inside the view that could make your life remarkable. it is funny i look at that essay now a and imagine i must have been a pretty tough guy when i was young but i am not sure that is trooper hour guess i was large enough that

a lot of people did not necessarily want to pick on me but i did with there were guys who could have looked at stone and said what? nablus like god, please somebody safely. [laughter] i was terrified probe but with the circumstances of my life i had no idea what would happen to me and i can imagine most of the guys from my neighborhood were ignorant to the possibilities of the future as i was but because i wanted to play football kept me out of the gains in doing crazy stuff like drugs because i was going to be the perfect athlete. of course, of the time i was absolutely sure i would be this great receiver. but ultimately that did not

work out. what did happen because i went to college, i had a chance to take a creative writing class. i like to write them i think they'll is liked to write but i never imagined i would be a writer necessarily are certainly not a poet but just because i tried to play football in college i ended up in the circumstance where i was able to study writing with people who knew right thing and it changed my entire life and gave me a view of the inner world which especially in our culture is very much about the superficial and the external it is a glance you do not often get but those poet that i studied with how would you feel or what do you think? that transformed my life and allowed me to do something different.

none of my friends took the path that i did and although it is a strange path that often seemed odd it has been a lucky, i opening and heart opening thing for me. what i hope in part win the someone reads this book, they will say it is possible to have a strange mind to maybe a valuable mind that is buried under a lot of things because certainly i had no idea that i would be somebody who had a real imagination. i would like to imagine things but i would never know the full range of my own mind had enough found myself in this circumstance to explore it and play out so i am hoping for the many young men of all colors to have a way to end artist inside, maybe my essay among others in the book will

draw them out and let them take a path that is more rewarding and hopefully gives them a lifelong goal to pursue. thank you very much [applause] >> i do not want to go another second longer before i welcome the honorable doug wilder they gang is all here. the next speaker is tim reid 1/2 to make full disclosure one of my dear friends and mentors and life is his dear wife daphne maxwell reed. i met with tim reid at the petersburg virginia office

which is located on a long parcel of land that houses new millennium studios the production company he founded with his wife daphne maxwell reed in 1997 we talked for several hours about everything from world religion to racism he was at times funny, intents passionate and reserved when we finally said goodbye i felt exhausted and secretly thrilled to have spent so much time with some day i have watched on television for years. far more than a resident funny man he embodies the complexities of his work and is as much venus's-flytrap the quick witted philosopher of the airwaves he portrayed on wkrp in the cincinnati as he is frank parrish the series he played on frank's place a picture in hollywood for more

than 30 years he has written the -- rode the roller coaster of fame for the highs and lows and has come away from that experience with a profound understanding both of power and its limitation his work in front of and behind the camera hank is an unique insights into the ways media can and is used to manipulate and influence public opinion borrow he still enjoys acting he currently devotes much of his time to producing films and television programs that provide authentic uplifting portrayals of the broader african-american experience. this reaches across cultures and generations that gives a antidote to the tired and often negative portrayals of african-americans in mainstream media i'm honored to introduce a man who i believe to be one of the most gifted and innovative creative

talents in america's cinematic history. mr. to read [applause] >> thank you. how did i get here? says she mentioned she knows my wife daphne so she called her and daphne told me what i would be doing. [laughter] one of the first two words into of the hardest words that took me to understand and grasp as a married man was yes, dear. but as soon as i could get that understanding my life has been a lot easier and we have been together now 30 years. thinks too, yes, dear. azide the seven and reflected on the book and what is going

on in the world today tonight is an important night not only for kelly but the community at large because the more we talk about what it takes for a young man to grow up in the world today and carry on a decent life, it is good but i have some news we just came back from a tour of the parties to we were in japan, guam, we met some of the most incredible young men i have ever had the pleasure of meeting in the military things are a little better than we think. if these kind of young men, thousands upon thousands of them are all over this the globe in the pacific, germany, afghanistan, iraq, you name it these young men and women are out there serving the country but there

is the attitude about what struck me the most britches as we went into some of the places on the military bases, guam, and this other place you would not even believe they exist, but there is a call about them that i did not think i would find. they're determined, not persuade by the foolishness that we have back here on the day to day pundits they are determined and a loyal and they are passionate about their country and their job and i have to say i was surprised. but it is not as bad as it seems but the problem is what seems to be is the perception that we have faced every day given to us by the media, the

press, twitter, facebook, you name it, we're constantly throwing back opinions of how bad things are and they can be and are based where you are and the reality of your life. but i have to tell you the glass is half full because there are many other young people like this. what does it take for these young people to grow up into the kind of character we want them to be? is now a step in the right direction but you have to remember it probably blow not be seen by no more than 8% of the young people who read books so it is up to you to read the book and get the information to these young people through conversations, a church, california and person industry, given away for christmas, i take the affirmation down and relate to

the stories that you hear. let them know there is another world not just the perception that comes across there at ipod or smart phone or on twitter that there are people out here really, really working to improve the character of some of the young people that we face. this is not just an american problem but a global problem. i spent a little time in africa working and i work with the media program they're trying to use the media to help change the image of what an african is. have said conference of 12 countries that sent representatives, professors, p oliticians, business people, we sat around for three-- talking about what is an african? and what we came away with and

i think we suffer from that here is they say we now live in that age of four give fullness broker we have forgotten about the kind of character it took to keep this country going we forgot about what we now call the greatest generation, the world war ii veterans, we have forgotten so much about what life really is about, not just about what happened to paris hilton today or what happened because somebody was arrested it is not about that but about the character of a human being. as i read the book and i started to read about the individual people you realize it is about individual character. some people believe like myself believe that character determines your favor. i truly believe that. the character of a person determines their fate. if bernie madoff had better

character, he would not have done what he did. character determines your fate. as mentioned i have been fortunate to spend most of my adult life, 40 years in some areas of show business i have got on my knees and ask why did you put me hear? why am i in this crazy business especially in petersburg with a studio why here and petersburg? [laughter] cotte has a sense of humor. [laughter] and i find not that i found a particular answer to that question but i found a particular vocation or mission and that is two alert as many people to the fact that we are now accepting what the media has defined we have accepted the perception to the life not

the reality. the reality is we do have a young men and women all over the globe who are doing incredible things, the courage it would take to do them buds the perception that we see coming across with every community in america there is some kid who was ready to commit a major crime yes we have criminals and prisons and we need them but what we watch constantly on television there is no such thing as a reality show they're all staged activities. it is all perception. we started the war on the perception there were weapons of mass destruction. we did not find any weapons of mass destruction but i am here to tell you there are weapons of mass destruction and it is called television.

one of the most powerful things ever created by man and if you don't understand the power of it, it can have a tremendous effect on your life, a community and a culture. it is not going away program not here to say we need to stop you cannot tell a young person to turn the tv off but we need to begin to give these young people some reality and understanding of what it takes to be a man or woman but give them that understanding what it took for your family to survive some of the things you have gone through a and when you look back when i was listening to though otherwise stories i thought there are so many parallels i also grew up in a strange wi-fi group is segregation in virginia and lived in the colored town.

one of the students of mass resistance. voted when i was 12 years old the one most likely to end up in prison. not a bad kid in terms of the reality but the perception is i wanted to be known as the tough kid really was not tough but scared to death mostly but i had gotten into trouble i broke into a school of is interesting to break into when you did not want to be there the first chance i got i broke into one i cannot imagine what i was looking for. [laughter] but i was caught. word got back to my father new-line did not know was my father until i was nine years old because i live with my grandmother. he came to me and said young man, nine understand you want

to be a good loan? i will give you to options. come live with me and go to school or i will kill you. school or death? i will take school and it turned my life around. somewhere along the lines of adults may be a man in most cases he came at the right time did a little correction a little bump and spill resistant some cold hard truth and a put beyond the proper path. that is all it takes pride think sometimes we get bogged down in the minutia and think it takes so much to change the lives sometimes all it takes is one day sometimes it only takes one hour per croaked one day i was on my way to join

the air force and i was going down the church street and talk about angels, no one guy pulls over and the car and says young man i am trying to get to virginia beach can you tell me? i said go down five blocks and a turn left and go down 20 minutes 18 miles i said the recruitment center i am going down the street by wall ride down to the corner i did not think about a by a jump in the car be he had on a jacket with florida and them he said i am a teacher and i work is a wager in the summer either atlantic city were virginia beach to make some extra money sometimes i make some money in the summer as they do the entire year i have heard one club is hiring so by the time i rode with him six blocks he said what you going to do?

i said i'm going to join the air force i said i did not do well and i think i like the air force i do not want to do the navy -- maybe we have been around and i do not like uniforms. so literally in three blocks do you have the money? he said you cannot go into the service without pocket change i will give you 20 bucks -- 20 bucks of the show me how to get to virginia beach. 20 bucks? okay so he tells me about the school a total stranger. we go to the club they're not hiring but tell us about an older gentleman in that cavalier hotel and he says to me, there is another place a private place go there and they are probably hiring. we get there and he says i

emilie hiring one and i say i do not want a job and going to be here for sparc he looks at me and says you needed job i think i'm going to atlantic city and he leaves me. and i take the job growth and i support myself for three years and of myself a college because i make so much money that summer i say i have to do something with it. why not go to college? one-person, one day in my life changed my life. it is not always something that you pray for it could be a small thing celadon people are very impressionable so i hope this book reaches as many but it will take you not only giving the book reading the book and approaching the use young people sometimes it can be as simple as improving one's character. thank you

[applause] >> our second and to last speaker is another classmate of my father paul galanti he spent several years in the famous hanoi hilton in be announced in my editor's note i begin with the normal introduction but i found a story that did such a splendid job of telling who paul galanti is a what kind of man he is a white and with somebody else's words rather than mine. too truly appreciate commander paul galanti and what he has to say you have to somehow appreciate the magnitude of what he endured during the done in many years he lived as a prisoner of war in vietnam breakout done enough research to know that he and his fellow

pow were routinely subjected to torture sessions ever designed to inflict excruciating physical and mental damage and i also knew that it lasted for hours or days at a time. i asked him about it because i cannot imagine how he managed to not let the severing destroy him? i was prepared for any answer except the one i got, it was a pain in the neck and it past me off. [laughter] but we all knew the worst that can happen was they would kill you than you were lucky and then you got to go home. the only thing paul admitted was isolation that he described as pretty rough sea can only imagine how terrific it must have been and he was not being delivered with his answers. in fact, of the courage and fortitude with ritchie's spoke

staggered me i felt as if i got a glimpse of the paul galanti that he is described in the essay that captain stratton describes when he was shot down in 19677 months after paul galanti had been taken prisoner he was beaten, tortured and placed in isolation in the same prison where paul galanti was being held and each day several prisoners and the isolation room were a cent -- assigned the duty to wash the dishes used to serve the ones daily meal per it is the only human contact captain struck 10 have the first few days in the isolation cell and in his essay he describes what happened next. these guys would do the dishes making a hell of a rocket and taken their time and yacking away to beat the band but they were not talking to each other but to the rest of us as if

they were talking to each other if you read me cough once four yes are you air force? cough cough. navy? cough. the 05? cough cough. '04? cough. another lieutenant commander do you know, who won the army navy game? cough cough. [laughter] jim stock they'll was the senior ranking officer communicated all cost when they get around to torturing you hold out and bounceback and make them do it again do not despair when they break do. they have broken all of us. pray. my name is 81 the universal danger signal comment paul galanti was called out and tortured and i did not see him

again for three years. i did not see him again one of the bravest men that i knew, my friend, commander paul galanti [applause] >> . >> one thing that i really like being on this stage they make it very easier to stand higher than the someone in the class. [laughter] and kelly a lot has happened since we talked on this book but today is special because it is money morning at 6:27 a.m. our first grant's son was born and your book will be the first thing that he reads [applause]

he lives of fear about three-quarters of a mile what we are not very far apart about three blocks and we're looking forward to speaking but unfortunately the woman i introduce as my better 75% the real reason i am here because she became quite a hero when when i was overseas there is my better 75%. fell less -- vellis [applause] >> i have nothing to talk about my friends will appreciate this described by a a pow they say you are the luckiest sob in the navy you were in the nav 20 years and only had to make one cruz. [laughter] most of that was oversee shore duty. everything is relative i grew

up a young forest gump every place we went something was happening some big news event and we were there but as a kid we lived in japan might dad was a career army officer so i got to watch all of these things as an 11 year-old with stars in his eyes looking at jet airplanes, looking all of the jet four bourse-- judge's air force's because we went to the same hotel they did. it was an interesting way to grow up i knew it wanted to do when i went to fort leavenworth just before i saw capt. chuck yeager flying the top-secret shooting star at the airshow and i knew what i wanted to do. it was a long haul. went to school in philadelphia also the military academy at my alma mater is short scoff

and, norman schwarzkopf and when things got rough in hanoi my mind would flashback to when i would remember my military trends we had:surgeons that told us everything or the naval academy where if you could not do something you did it anyway if you were told to do something you did it anyway. i am sitting here next two said two m's per barrel and it w. k. rp was my favorite television show ever. it was not you. but lonnie anderson at. [laughter]

when i came home from vietnam it was awful the good news about being in hanoi imus of the country blowing up and going country and they told us about it that we would not believe them. they would read about the bad things happening we were the last idealist in the entire world we did not know about the moon shot until three years later we found out about the act on the propaganda radio was talking about neil armstrong has no need to tell the people what the service of the moon is like and we said that while one of our guys must have went to the moon.

but yet it was a great experience because i got to meet some of the neatest, this man i have ever known in my life. i came back it was not cool to be a guy ready else is getting preferential treatment we started to talk about this book are we equal? everybody has special treatment. [laughter] this book is the most timely thing i held st. christopher's kids 80 copy for every young man in this will help the school boards get it because

in every single one of the stories we are a little different. somebody made it cool to be a guy who and not because we put a crash helmet on, or the car seats come give me a break? and there is said to of thing as zero defect it was fun to jump into the car and go like the dickens. but be careful we don't let them get hurt and thanks to all of those at the trial lawyers that cause that sort of thing there is no risk anymore the risk taking has gone away house to be fail-safe but the thing that got me going was dreaming of flying the jet airplanes to watch them fly or the thunderbirds or blue angels to every year show i could go to but now they talk about how

safe it is they come back and brag about the crew's pro they have computers flying airplanes no. we've both the flu the eighth for which i like to describe the last airplane where the pilot was smarter than the airplane broke i will just talk about john ripley was in the book one of the biggest honors of my life last year at his funeral there were seven marines and the they were supposed to be on the same team but not really ripley is one of the biggest heroes i have ever known i think of what he did the reason he had to take so many trips to block that bridge, it was built like the george washington and underneath that getting shot

at 200 tanks, wounded three times, 20,000 troops, finally got 40 pounds if he had not done that i would still be in bn, it would have been crushed with no peace agreement so that is why ripley is one of my favorite guys. profiles in courage when . .

>> two of the choppers get it on the way back. it's one of them had gone down he would have been hung by the neck. he had the courage to do that because in washington they all sitting there looking into other and forming a big staff study. doing the cost and benefit. we might make somebody mad. so anyway, that was not the style. stuffy in his wisdom he went and

got him out. otherwise they would have captured him and i'm sure they would have killed him. my heroes. three things under from my experience in hanoi. that whole experience i taught french. i learned a lot of stuff. i came out of there a much better person than lieutenant j. g. galanti. three things i learned from solitary confinement, beatings, just -- [laughter] >> i didn't even look like -- [laughter]

>> i learned i was as tough as i thought i was. we were tough. we weren't very smart, but we were pretty tough. i used to think there was no way. went to survival school. it was a piece of cake. i didn't like that either, but i got through it. no big deal. i found out i wasn't nearly as tough as i thought. i needed people to turn to and use for examples. no matter how bad i thought i had it some of those times are awful. i would think about what they were going through. all of a sudden my personal situation doesn't seem bad. the last thing on my signature, i remind myself that there is no such thing as a bad day when you have a doorknob on the inside of the door. [applauding]

>> well, our last speaker certainly needs no introduction, but i am going to give him one anyway. from all outward appearances doug wilder's start in life was impossibly difficult. the grandson of slaves he grew up poor and in the segregated south. his name will be reported in every history textbook from this generation forward. why? because doug wilder is the first african american in the history of our country to be elected governor of a state. and not just any state, but his home state of virginia, the former capitol of the confederacy. that he could experience any measure of success in the face of so much injustice and hardship is on inspiring. that he would rise above it to become governor of virginia is

nothing short of miraculous. however, as he will tell you in his essay he was raised with certain intangible advantages that made it possible. doug wilder is a force of nature. as charming in person as he is demanding. his unparalleled success throughout his political and professional career is due in no small part to his take-no-prisoners style. he is ultimately portrayed as the quintessential southern gentleman or the fears politician. however, in the time that i have spent with and i have found him to be neither of these extremes. i meant to governor wilder for the first time the de havilland to his office to ask him if he would consider writing an essay for this book. i began my pitch by talking

about him, his wife. he brushed that aside. he was not interested in talking of himself. instead as he mulled over my request he began telling me stories about his mother and his father and the ways in which they had softened the jacket corners of poverty for him and his siblings said that it never threatened d to consume their lives. he reminisced about the older black men in his neighborhood where he grew up who, having had no real opportunity to go to school themselves, instilled in him a profound understanding of the importance of education. they offered themselves as living examples of opportunity lost and forged in him a deep appreciation for the power of a strong mind. he stood up from his desk and walked over to the mall stack sf

papers that were neatly ranged on the stand and brought them over for me to see. there were letters he had received from children across virginia. he seemed to remember the names and faces a of each one he had met and was obviously moved and invigorated by the memory. i am part of the older generation now, he says in his essay. and we are charged with the task of successfully instilling in your generation and understanding and appreciation of the trip guys that have been overcome and what it takes to overcome them. i'd like to think that the slide came from those final moments of our meeting when he looked at the letters from the children. reflected for a moment at the innumerable awards and honors that blanketed his wall, and then turned and told me to add his name to violence. i am honored to introduce a virgin is history making

governor, the honorable l. douglas wilder. [applauding] >> thank you very much. i came late because i wanted everyone to say everything they had to say before i got here. i was prowling around st. christophers -- i mean st. catherine's campus for about 15 minutes. you know, when you have to drive yourself these days. [laughter] >> hard to get around. but i wouldn't miss this for anything. my good friend, chief justice, is sitting here as he know. in his essay he speaks of a word that really impressed me. he spoke of civility.

and he described how an was such a great part of george washington's life and how it was something that he carried with him through every aspect, even when he was in civilian life. and i think it's something that should be a part of the thread and our society today as it has been in so many other instances in our development as a nation. tim read it eloquently describes as as the people that have come together. a nation that has endured so much. and you're right, kelly. i really do feel that i was lucky to have been born when i was born. and people say, what do you think you could do now with the advantages that are out there

for kids? i said well, look what thomas jefferson could have done if he had a computer. you don't talk about what could have been. you talk about what is. and when i say that i am lucky, i am lucky because of what you described as the society, the community. everybody was concerned with that community. everyone was concerned with the plight of the children, the plight of the neighborhood, the plight of the schools. everything. it was the question of this group about this. others thought that. and to the extent that i was lucky enough to have parents that valued education, really valued it they made it very clear that was the only way unless you get smart.

they don't. and then people run absent in nothing. and i never really wanted to do too much other than to be as good as i could be with whenever it was i did. and would i would be fortunate enough to have the barber shop as my forum or the shoeshine parlor across the street or even though food hall where i ultimately had my first law office. those people in those places interest all of us to stay in school, to be certain to participate in government. i was charged with the responsibility back in the early parts of the 50's and 60's when boat registration was to be a key. there was a yellow but that they would put out.

the hang that book up in the barber shops. you know, the barber shop is for everybody. everybody has got to have their say. you see that show on television, the. the philosophers of the world of better than the wino's on the corner because they will step up. they know everything. and so the guys in the would say to me, doug, his name is not in that book that the snow because we will shut him of. and of would be the first to run to that book. his name is not year. shut up. don't you speak about anything that you know. he knows so much about something you should be registered. you should vote. i don't care if it is the poll tax. and when you consider that on too many occasions today our society across the board, not necessarily class, has said to

our reactors that they don't have to be the best. they settled for a that mediocrity. it j ust to get by. you and i know we have some high-school students graduating today from college. what does that say? high school students graduating from college. and the college degrees they did today in some places i not work those high-school degrees and the promise that we get. they did not know what calculus was. you speak to kids about out but today or the proper pronunciation today, and they think that you are as some would say talking white. then top white. that nonsense that swept through some portions of the nation some few years ago when they were speaking about ebonics, remember

that? ebonics. and they would ask me. and they would debate it and talk about it. this is a language you had to speak. what did you have to say? when they start speaking and on wall street let me know. that is the time to do it. our kids need to be challenged. they are coming from all over the world, but when they are coming there are coming with two and three disciplines. they are coming with degrees. they are coming with two or 3 degrees, and they are coming ready to work. and to the extent that you're going to have a drop of society, we can't afford that. and i was very fortunate. we have lost that stability. i think in the other instance we have too many young people

waiting for someone to tell them when it's time for them to move. waiting, and they will say, well, you know, i'm calling -- what are you going to do? well, i don't know. what i you doing now? well, what i'd be doing now? well, you know. i've had next to come to me to ask for recommendations for scholarships at various places. at one school when i was in the states and at the centers could send a kid to military school, virginia military institute. each senator could send their kid their free. so i had this young actor that can there. he had excellent paper work in front of him. i said -- i didn't have been at the time. was in an envelope. what a year for? well, i heard you could make a recommendation for me. >> i can't hear you. well, you know. i was told.

my dad wants to give me to get to school up there. i said is your name such and such? you know this person here? yes. you have got a's all the way through. how does that happen? is this you? >> yes, that disney. and it was like a metamorphosis. he strutted being the real person that that he was. i said, well, why did you talk that way to me when you first come in. well, you know. people accuse you of being cute or trying to put on airs or trying to be smarter than they are. i said then that is what you want to be. you want to be smarter than that next person. you want to be the best that you can be. you want to the up to the highest possibility of your attainment. now, your parents might not have the education in many instances that they could have had, and that is where we need to start.

not just with the kids. we have got to start with the parents. we can't allow the parents to believe that someone is going to raise their children. we can't allow the fathers to believe that they can be the father at a time when those kids are able to play a sport. that is my son. but was he your son when the kid needed some help? and needed some support? and needed someone to die in order? we need to have these parents who are able to say to these kids, no, you are calling to do one or two things. your and your going to get the job or your going to go to school. and you're going to help yourself there, too. there has to be a cut of. it was built in. it was built in in your home. it was built in in my home because my father said i don't have money to waste. i'll tell you what, there were

nine of us, 10 of us all together. not going to be able to send all of you to college. but i'm going to guarantee all of you high-school. i only had one home my entire life, 28 and pierre street. my father built that house, paid for that house. he had it built. his father who was the slave build his house across the street. note : if those two men could have ve these big families and build there own homes and have it so that we knew we had the comfort of family, we didn't have to worry about where the rent was going to come from or who our neighbors are going to be. and we had to get to school because if you don't do that you can't stay here. i told my mother i was calling to run away from from home.

she was, oh, you can't do that. yes, i am. so she told my father. i understand you want to run away from home. i said. yes. tell me where you want to go and i'll carry you. we don't do that today. we are afraid our children will be mad with us. you want them to be our buddies. we want them to be our pals. my granddaughter, my grandson's were asking -- my daughter asked me what i want them to call you. i am their grandfather.

that is the shortest i'm going to make it. they need to know that is there is a figure in their lives that their respect. family is all you have. finally i would say that there isn't anything you can't do to these answers. you make of your mind what you want to do. you can do it in this country. and i'm not talking about as a result of what happened in the last four, five, six, 10, or 20 years. that was always what i was taught, always taught. notwithstanding how things maybe the day you were with a better day because you can cut it. that is why you always will say that. of the pole, usually say to kids. i will persist until i succeed because i was not to the bird into this world in defeat, nor does defeatism run through my blood with the blood of my ancestors. i am not some sheep waiting to be prodded by the distance shepherd. i don't want to know the steep,

associate with the sheik because the slaughterhouse of failure is is not my destiny, and i will persist until i succeed. however they do persist until they succeed. thank you. [applauding] >> next we are going to open it up for some questions and answers. i know i have some questions that people have sent in, but if you have a question for one of the microphones. if you would like to ask you can just step up to the microphone there and ask in your questions. if we thought we had trouble before it ready. this is the only projecting mic.

those mic are actually for c-span. still the theatrical forces, and sentiment. and if you would please state your name. say your name and to the question is for. >> my name is steve sadler. my question is for mr. reid. most interested in your view of media, the power of media and our culture is undeniable, but we almost always seemed to talk about and look at media as a negative influence. is there is some suggestion you might have on how-to and filter the media's of that it is positive? or are there people out there doing positive things in the media that maybe we aren't just missing? >> yes, there are people doing positive things. the issue rest and ourselves. most of us not only don't understand the media, but we are afraid of the media. the media is just that. it's not a living, breathing thing. they have not been able to put a

diet or transistor in it yet. it is what i consider a negative word in our history books, but a word that i think is needed negative or positive. that is propaganda. when someone revolts and take over a town, what is the first in the takeover? the radio station, the news station. why? to control the propaganda. we have to understand that if we don't control or have some say so within our communities about the information coming into our communities to morgan people then we will lose control of our community because the media is that powerful. and to tell a young person to turn off the television or don't go on the computer, you can't guard and 24 / seven. what we have to teach is the responsibility of the media. the responsibility of words. i am in show business. i am against.

i am against censorship. i am against it. i think what you do is you teach people the power of words. if again person knows that a word is powerful and they will have better respect for the word. tillite in person not to say that word. they will find another word. the come up with another meeting. if you teach them the power of the word. you teaching people the power of media they will have more respect for it and hopefully we will begin to of put responsibility into the media. what is lacking today is responsibility. we are not holding the media responsible as a community. you have to hold it responsible. how do you do that? you stop buying the product. we own the airwaves. you call your local station. you know, i don't want this garbage coming in my neighborhood. you have to be more responsible.

we can do anything our lives. that is the media. >> i am for the johnson. i have a question. did any of your friends did yard time when you quit playing football to write poetry? >> it's funny that you ask that question. not really. i think for the most part i went to school in texas. grew up in philadelphia. my friends from philly, from the time i started coming back. abbas on the home at christmas and for awhile and the summertime. so i think some of it might have been disappointed that i didn't become, you know, as we all fantasize about. i was one of the few who went to college and actually played of the college ball. some of the folks in the neighborhood were resting on me.

when i did not become a pro i didn't get any hard time, but maybe you did -- de look at you out of the corner of their eye. but not really hassled. the dudes i played with in college, now, that was different. because we were football players for awhile to get the. it is kind of, what happened, and? did you go soft? what is with this poetry think? [laughter] you know, but as i say, the name of my essay in the book was hardheaded. that is one of the things that saved me. really i don't care what anybody said to me. once i made up my mind to do with, man, i was going to be a public. of a still a pretty big guy. nobody was going to push me around anyway. but, yap. the skies might have been of the rock. the dukes to at the college level, some of those guys did

become pros. athletes. some of them i've read about and sports illustrated before i got there. some of these guys are real, that was my life. i was lucky. i have this other thing. we did all right several essays about our lives. my mother had been a high-school english teacher. one of the things i was going to know was how to read and write. i had that. i had that as a skill. so there was a path that i could take away from sports that probably most of the guys, that was not an option they had. faber not going to suddenly become writers. it didn't have, perhaps, the level of ability and language that i did. at the time i didn't think of myself as some profound the talented guy, but in retrospect i realized i did know things about about of guys who were jocks. and you get of a bit of a hard

time from your former team mate. but the going to do? you had to get back on the field. we were in different worlds really. >> old folks used to tell me when i was a kid, if you're not hitting resistance your not pushing forward. >> my name is ed. my question is for commander galanti. i would like to point out up front i am an irish trial lawyer. before becoming an irish trial lawyer i was an army jag. i still am in the reserves. occurs to me -- in hanoi for seven years. listening to you tonight i don't hear any bitterness about your experience. i hear a very positive description of what must have been a tremendous the tragic time. and as a military officer i would want to know, how is it that you manage to come away from such a difficult experience

without being in better? >> everything is relative. i kept thinking of my friends, 58,000 names on the ball, we both have a lot of friends who were on there. killed during the war, killed during training accidents. it just goes with the turf. something that happened. we were trained for it. we went to survival school and learned approximately what it was. we weren't really prepared for the length of it. we never knew when it was going to be over. it was christmas of '72 when i was sitting in a cell back in solitary again. i said christmas '65, '66, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72.

i have been away from home for a long time. right after that i had not had interrogation since 1968. the camp commander called me out and says according to you did you know what your. >> activities are? no, how do i know that? i get no mail, and he said maybe that is why you get no mail. governor wilder, a think of was the only one he used to wear and the only when he commented on it. if you are in the army it's okay. >> follow up question. other than admiral smith, are there any people today that you could point to that you feel are heroes? if you can tell us why. >> i'm sitting next to one of

them read your. blazing trails. venus flytrap. by the way, a friend of ours. he was the second maytag repairman. also he was a station manager. >> that's right. >> i have a lot of heroes. there are just -- in fact, i don't get hung up on turkeys. maybe that is one reason. a lot of just normal people your. they're doing their best. doing a whole lot better than anybody ever thought there were going to do. they are heroes to me. the ones that are trying hard. a lot of young people, i know, are given everything on a silver spoon. they just, frankly, blew it. it is a classic second generation are third-generation. build up from scratch.

the second generation, they get to pot. just a lot of them. first president bush. you want to send me there? this is what your going to have to do. the back to mop. president bush said a lot of times you want to pick up the radio. if they can get right inside the years, a squad leader right in the middle of combat. and schwarzkopf had the first gulf war over in three weeks once he punched the button. of course i went to the same high school he did. in newark, i have a ton of them. we have a whole bunch. their is a bunch of other stuff. so beside anybody -- any admiral named snuffy has got to be a

neat guy anyway. >> yes, my name is sean kelly. first of all i would like to thank all of you for saying yes to do this book. i think it is a really, really great book. i appreciate everything i have read. it is really incredible. it will be mandatory reading for my son, and i appreciate your example. i appreciate your service, the military and the teaching profession in entertainment, community activism, thank you very much. my question is for admiral smith. i am wondering if you can give any advice to how we can call a young man to service? and i don't mean just military, but i mean service to our country, service to the communities, service and general to really boost their betterment, our country's betterment. if you could speak to that.

>> well we were talking about the media earlier and telling the media, what i really was thinking about at that point was the responsibilities that families and parents have to cause some people to think for themselves about important things. we sometimes tend to -- and i think you mentioned it. we tend to not give the kind of guidance and direction that is required. we tend to accept mediocrity. we don't cause our young people to really understand what is important. and i truly believed that young men and women with whom i served -- and at think you are exactly right. there are wonderful people out there today. i have got a couple son-in-law's and a daughter in the service right now. other get them, and i know that something cause them to come. there is no common thread of the

than the fact that they sort of understand what the united states is all about. and most of them come in with the sense of responsibility. this entry. it is a good place to land banks. i really believe it is part of the growing up process. all starts at home with the families understanding what is important, teaching the people to think for themselves. >> hello. my name is read. and a graduate of st. christopher's school to be that thank you for coming and getting involved. this is a topic that we talk a lot about being an all male school. having a father figure and a family has got to be a major influence in building a better man. i would ask any of you, are we at the beginning of a new era

with our new president, barack obama? are we at that time now where a lot of people that did not think they could get anywhere in this world for whatever reason now may think that they can in that there is time for excuses and it may be over with, that anybody can do anything, and will that allow or turn so many people that have been irresponsible and had children and just left them for the people to raise, will they now say, you know what, maybe i can be something and i need to be involved in my children's life and to raise that jack could this be the beginning of a new era? >> there's a perception of reality. of course that cuts both ways because of course their is a dark perception. the perception that makes people

not try. and i think obama, the image of obama, particularly a black man and the white house even though he is of european and african heritage, but his skin is brown. that certainly will change some of the dynamics that govern the culture. of course you still have all lot of of the difficulties that people face. those things didn't vanish because he became a precedent. you still have racism as an active force in this culture. though it may be slipping into its -- you know, it's deserted death mask filing. but i do think it is still there. you're going to have issues of poverty. you still have issues of self-esteem that make it very hard for people to believe that they, too, could and had the white house. but yes, i suddenly think obama is presence there, the perception that here is a man who 50 years ago could not have sat -- gone to a lot of hotels are sad and a movie theater.

now president of the country. certainly that has to change some of the ways in which black men and men and color and general, and perhaps poor white kids as well, make them think of themselves differently about what is possible given the circumstance. >> i think one of the most important things said during the election, past election was said by obama, but actually he didn't write it. it was written by alice walker. we are the ones we have been waiting for. i don't know why of all the dialogue i heard during the election that particular phrase has stuck with me. and as i travel around the country and i listen to what is going on through the media, i don't think that we realize. a very positive image. that is one man. i think that we set ourselves up for failure if we rely completely on that image as the sole to pinpoint to our future.

i don't think he is the tipping point. a think he is a glorious part of our present and could be a part of our future in terms of his few and his ability to govern. but i think we are the ones responsible for our future. when i say we, simple things. and when you get away from our shores and look back on our country you get a different view. as i said, sitting in a military facility in okinawa talking to a young american, a different and fitting, talking to some guy spirit of little different. and what i am finding i am concerned about, we americans. that is we have become very negative, when people. everywhere i go i hear people talk about. you want to talk about something negative. i can say this one word and everyone will agree it is a negative. post office. use the post office everybody in the room goes, that's right. the you know we have the best

postal system in the world? that in this country you can walk outside of here with a letter, postmarked it palm domestic it in a little box on any corner and in a matter of a week to two weeks it will be in guam. try to do that in italy. tried to do that in any country in the world. you will all beat them home. i thought you were in italy. but you hear a politician. they say well, the post office, we have the best postal system in the world. people would say that. perception. it's not good politics. these politicians going to much government. well, maybe don't run for office next time. one less person. the gas and $10 million to become something and then says we have too much government. why didn't you think of that $109 a go. we could have used that to build

schools are put some books in the library. so i'm saying that the perception. i get back to the perception to be the perception is now that we have all these things wrong. there are a lot of things, a lot of things better than we give them the reality for in this country that we need to start looking at. you want a young person to have some feeling about his future you better stop telling him that she has no future and the world is going to hell and that handbasket. you better start telling these and people, you know what, things are better than we thought. these jab people are going to turn on you. if you don't start giving them positive information, you don't stop calling them negative things they're going to turn on you. you have trained their young mind. parents cannot be careful what you name your kids. be careful what you say to them. when i was a kid they would always ask the question in my house the matter of was, what you gonna be when you grow up,. >> reporter: i don't care who it was. you better come up with

something. p and going to be a cowboy. well, you better be a good one. nobody cares what the kid is going to be. i think it is us. we have to be more responsible and we better start sinking positive reality into our children. the poorest can become the best, and the best can become the poorest. if you don't start speaking busted into then you're going to have o have trouble. >> a little church earlier this year. a lady came in. two nephews. one boy about so high and the other one of the higher. she said of wanted them to meet you. they have heard about you. you know, we read about you in

our fourth grade books history. virginia. one of them said, yes. and one of them said, haven't you been dead? [laughter] and then, and then she said to them tell him what you're going to do. one looked at me. i'm going to be the president of the united states. the other said i'm going to be the governor of virginia. and so is the image that is out there. the opportunity for them to see. your point is absolutely right. it's not just for the kids. it's for the world to see. i happen to have been in saudi arabia the day or two after the election. even their spirits were so uplifted. shortly after that i was in another country. spirits uplifted. people all over are watching.

but when those kids start saying to their parents what they are going to be, that puts the onus on those parents to say to them why can't they be. what is your job going to be to help them get there. it is a moment and a window and an opportunity that they need to take advantage of. >> in many communities of color, and particularly a think it was racism appear to be a kind of monolith. the idea that perhaps there was a kind of quiet conspiracy against communities of color. but everyone knows that obama could not have been elected with a kind of convergence the white trinity's and communities of color. i think that also changes the dynamic, the wait some young people and adults imagine the culture, american culture. >> we have two minutes.

we will have time for one last question. >> address my question to each of you. my name is nancy sutten finley. my question is really more about our culture and women in our culture and how as women have changed and they have changed our society and as probably that many of you know in college today women are this dollars. more than 50% of our doctors and lawyers are women. that has changed the dynamics of tremendously. you are all of a certain age were you had traditional roles. it was very clear cut. you were to be the provider. the web was going to stay at home. we had very different roles. at the today it is so much harder for men to carve out what their role is supposed to be. where are they supposed to be in our society. i wonder if each of you could speak to that in terms of where you see the next generation the filling that role and how they find their way into becoming the men that want to be as our culture has changed so much.

i know it's a big question. think of your daughters and granddaughters. >> this is the guy that should have been the first black president of the united states. there is no but trail of white males in any kind of favorable sense anymore. just look at all the tv commercials. if there's a white guy in it he's the clown. the fat guy. and i'm not sure rear this is coming from. i don't know. but our boys know that they can do anything they want to do. they have to work for it, but i don't -- will models, i can go and said demographics. i was in the naval academy when they had the first women. they were treated horribly. but they still are.

it's awful. the plot along. the most popular guy. i give the same woman away twice at two different weddings. just all sons and daughters. but differ away when she was a j.g. and when she was a navy captain. it's a different career pattern. they don't do 24/7. when i went into the military if the navy wanted to have a wife they would have issued one. so now as a young female, single parent. i can't do 24 / seven. the kids to take care of. several years ago the largest single item and military construction was day care centers for unmarried. give me a break. that is not real smart. it causes a major problem in our defense preparedness. that is apparently what the

population wants. we do what the public says to do. >> being challenged by somebody who is a little bit less accepted. he was talking about women. didn't have the stamina. when was the last time you did an iron man? when was the last time you ran a half marathon on saturday and of all marathon on sunday? and was the last time you were 500 yards and people who want to kill you? then i told him by 5-foot 5-inch daughter had done all of those. she is a lieutenant commander in the navy. get out of my face. what we really need to understand, and i made this comment in a panel. you may remember it. women in combat. and the big argument was whether women should be in combat. people were talking about how they should be in combat. that's the wrong question.

nobody in his right mind wants to be in combat. what they want is the same opportunity to serve in positions of the ship as we have. and in order to do that they have got to serve in the same positions to achieve that capability. that is how it all started. >> if any of you have ever had the pleasure of going to israel and seeing the israeli female soldiers, i don't think you would ever ask the question can a woman fight. i have no issues about women in the military. i would like to see more women get more involved in government. i think we have a life out of balance. i think we need more feminine power in government. i think the world would be different. politics. and to get more of a balance. a degree of screw things up a little bit.

we are ashamed. we are still in charge. i would like to see more women join and get more involved. none of what i said to my grandmother's, i need the gender side. i said basically be prepared to take charge. you can follow traditions of your own. keep your womanhood. don't try to become a man in terms of your thinking, in terms of your philosophy. keep your womanhood. that is the power that is needed in that position. that is what i said to them. >> with regard to whether the roles for boys are not clearly defined any longer. i don't know. i have heard people say that.

i like being a man. i love women. i want women to do well. i don't feel that suddenly i don't know who i am. i know who i am. what i would like to think, this book, a better man, could, of course have apparel book, a battered woman. in each case what we are trying to do is encourage kids of a pretender to do as much as they can. we will be fine companions for each other. we will work it out. it's not like i don't know what to do. i know what i can do in and know what she can do. those issues to me seem common sense. if we permit each other to realize our full potential we will be good companions for each other. it is really just that to me. >> i am going to tie it up there. thank you for those answers and

think you for that question. i'm going to take 30 seconds. since i have a few young men in the audience captive of going to give you a 30-second message of something that i've learned having interviewed these men. that is this. if you decide you have some desire to be a better man, and you have to start with that decision. it's not really even a difficult one. if you decide that, i have a little bit of good news and a little bit of bad news. the bad news coming if you want to call it that, is that to be a good man is going to require more courage, more persistence, more sacrifice by now. it is not an easy road. if it were easy everyone would do it. i encourage you to make that choice, and i encourage you to us strive for it because i can promise you that if he do, if

you persist, if you are courageous, if you no self control and understand sacrifice you will find yourself looking up one day standing shoulder to shoulder with these gentlemen and the gentleman in this book. these of the man whose company he will keep, but you have to choose. you must choose. and i hope you choose wisely. so i think my esteemed panel once again for their time. a thank you all so much for coming and taking time out of a beautiful summer evening to be your. these gentlemen and i are going to go directly behind her to the athletic building where they will sign books. the books are available for $25 apiece. cash, check, or charge. i'm going to hand them over there. i hope some of you will join as thank you again so much. [applauding]

[inaudible conversations] >> kelly johnson is an attorney, writer, and mother who has written for national parenting magazine. her work also appears in the compilation of the imperfect mom, candid confessions of mothers living in the real world. ç for more information on the

author visit brandy lane publishers dot com. >> linda manning of the northern illinois university press. what are some of the titles coming out this year from your press? >> we have starting at the left one he just came out, a biography jimmy morton. the morton arboretum. no biography has ever been written on him. >> why is it important? >> he was very much ahead of his time. a philanthropist and kind of an early environmentalist. he believed in saving the land about chicago and building the arboretum that exists still today. very nice to have open land near the city. >> is morton salt still in chicago? >> still is in chicago. >> we have of poster of william l. dawson. >> he was a congressman from chicago. he was very popular during the civil rights era.

one of the first black americans to be a congressman. he was in the cabinet. he did a lot of firsts. we are getting a lot of buzz about that putt. there has never been a biography on that either. >> who is troy bickham? >> he is a historian. he wrote this book about the press. the british press and their views of the american revolution and how they saw the board. a lot of controversy in britain because there were people who sided with both the patriots and the loyalists. kind of a conflict. their own people or their own previous people who were now colonists and the yen to states. he takes a look at how the press the of the war. and in england the common person could write to the newspapers. write editorials. and so even the common person had a voice about the revolution. >> now, being ignored in illinois in the midwest. you have written a book called

industrializing the corn belt. >> comes out in december. it is available already. it is actually a case study on iowa. it looks at how agricultural change during 1945-1972, the different mechanical introductions that their work. the antibiotics, pesticides and all that that came into being. >> and finally another book about the 1960 presidential election. by? >> this was one of the first to actually look just at the primaries and on the republican side of things. and a full comprehensive look at just leading up to those elections. >> what kind of books to you look for? >> we do a lot of u.s. history. we are expanding a little bit more into early america because we are part of the new grant awarded to georgia, in my view, and us. during early