Face to Face!

In this Issue: Face to Face

Yesterday we had our Face to Face speaker forum with former US Representative Liz Cheney and historian and author Jon Meacham. I was not able to sit in the student event, so you must get your Deac to fill you in, but I did work at the keynote event in the evening.

I am not going to be able to do justice to the fullness of the conversation, because it was a fascinating discussion and I was trying to absorb it all and be in the moment. So I am going to instead share some impressions of what stuck out to me:

Jon Meacham came in hot with his very first question, which was [paraphrasing] “tell me about January 6th.” If anyone had wondered pre-event if we were going there, this left no doubt (and provided a moment of levity at the abruptness of the ask).

I have never met Liz Cheney personally, but she struck me as being the very same in real life as she is on TV: very smart, prepared and thoughtful, quick witted, and firm in her belief in the rule of law and the protection of our republic. I also got the strong sense she doesn’t suffer foolishness from anyone – she seems to be a serious person. She’s also a mom to a couple of young adult daughters, so there were a couple of funny recollections related to Taylor Swift, which got a chuckle.

I think there was a moment when she was talking about the toxicity of today’s politics, and she said that when she was younger (and her dad was in Washington), Congresspeople brought their whole families to Washington, and they socialized together (and across party lines). Fewer members of Congress move their whole families to DC these days, and so they don’t get to know each other and families – and its a lot harder to be terrible to someone when you know their spouse/partner and kids, etc. (That’s a paraphrase but it is the general idea).

She was not eager to endorse any particular candidate for president, lest her endorsement hurt instead of help. She did say we need more good people running for office, and we need to show up at the ballot box and hold our elected officials accountable.

While we could not do a recording of her remarks, you can see a photostory here.

Families, if it is at all within your means and your family’s no doubt busy schedule, I really do encourage you to consider buying a Face to Face season subscription. Why? First of all, you get the benefit of hearing from some amazing people: thought leaders and artists and people of gravitas and great talent across many spectrums. Second, you get an excuse to come visit your students! Third, I have heard some of my colleagues directly involved with Face to Face give out hints that our speaker lineup for next year is really formidable.

I have been to several of the Face to Face programs and I always come away energized and inspired, and I always learn something. Anyway, I hope your Deacs went to the student program – these are wonderful (free!) events for them to be in the room with people they might not otherwise get to meet. Next up is Trevor Noah on April 30. I imagine the students will pack that one.

Have a great weekend, Deac families!