(Septemnber 10, 2019 – Albany Student Press)

By Matthew Mirro

This past Friday, Dan Rather, former longtime CBS reporter and news anchor, author of

the 2017 book, What Unites Us, visited the University at Albany campus and spoke to a crowd at

the SEFCU Arena as part of the New York State Writers Institute’s (NYSWI) Visiting Writers

Series.

Over the course of his more than half century as a reporter, Rather has born witness, and

lent a voice, to some of the most central events in modern history: the Kennedy Assassination,

the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, Watergate and the resignation of Richard Nixon,

the fall of the Berlin Wall, the 9/11 Terror Attacks and the United States invasions of Iraq and

Afghanistan.

But in front of the crowd at SEFCU, Rather discussed something deeper than singular yet

historic events. With UAlbany’s own Paul Grondahl, director of the NYSWI, moderating, Rather

spoke of bad actors working to exploit America’s differences and pull us further apart.

“Those who seek to exploit our differences feel our unity is fragile,” said Rather. “I don’t

believe it’s fragile but I do believe it’s frayed.”

Before he took the stage, Rather took a moment to talk with the Albany Student Press

about his long career, his book and the current climate the country finds itself in.

“I believe the greatest threat to our country today,” Rather told the ASP, “is whether we

can successfully resist the effort to exploit those differences”.

“Patriotism includes a certain amount of humility,” Rather said, speaking of the

difference between patriotism and nationalism, a central theme of his book. “One loves their

country, one is proud of their country, but you’re aware that the goal is to constantly be

improving.

“Nationalism has to do with arrogance and conceit,” he went on, pounding his fists

against his chest to demonstrate a jingoistic pride he himself doesn’t possess. “It’s to say ‘we’re

the best at everything, we’re the best that’s ever been.” He admitted an overlap in the two but,

having lived through World War II while growing up in Texas, warned that history shows the

danger of nationalism.

On stage, the conversation took twists and turns, ranging both the historical record and

the emotional spectrum. He stressed the vital role of a free press and the threat to that from the

Trump Administration. He described the still nascent state of the American Experiment and

invoked the trust busting image of Theodore Roosevelt when discussing the power of internet

monopolies like Facebook. He urged the reinstitution of civics lessons in the classroom and

called climate change “a race against time” while decrying the current administration and its

allies as “anti-science”.

“Make no mistake these are perilous times. The nation is in peril. But it has been in peril

before.”

In one instance, the crowd erupted with laughter when he joked that “somehow he

doubted” President Donald Trump (whose name does not appear once in What Unites Us) had

read his book. Not long after, Rather brought a stirring room to near total silence as he described

the horrors and sounds of the battlefields he’s covered; “I have seen things that, it may sound

dramatic, but frankly no human should ever see.” And in a truly emotional moment, Rather, his

voice cracking with feeling, described a scene with his family before he left to cover the war in

Afghanistan:

“They told me that if I left, they knew I wasn’t going to come back…Not every day in

every way, but some days in some ways, danger is my business.”

Reminding us the president’s role is in service to the people, he laughingly admitted to

sidestepping a question from Grondahl on whether or not Trump should face impeachment,

humbly saying he wasn’t qualified to answer as “just a reporter, and a reporter who got lucky”.

Comparing the situation to Watergate nearly 50 years ago, he said the presence of foreign powers

in the current scandals trouble him more than the crimes that forced Nixon to resign and added

that Congress probably had enough evidence to launch an impeachment inquiry were they “in the

mood”.

What penetrated it all, even through the darker, sadder stories, was a sense of optimism.

Rather called himself “an optimist by nature and experience” and said that he had confidence

that “more times than not the American people will do the right thing”. But, he cautioned that

optimism requires action, and action geared towards pushing the country and all its potential in

the right direction. It means not being complacent. It means acting.

“This may be a dark valley and this may be a long, dark valley. But I believe we can and

will emerge from it as good if not even better.”

Backstage, I asked Rather what was the main message he had for the students here at

UAlbany and the next generation of Americans. Without any sign of hesitation, he responded,

“Keep hope alive.”

Dan Rather, “the Hardest Working Man in Broadcast Journalism” has issued a challenge.

Making this republic live up to its potential has always been like steering a ship that wants to

veer off the edge of the map. The challenge is to steer it to better horizons and it takes all of us to

meet it.