Walter Cronkite’s Heroic Life Stories
Welcome back!
Walker Cronkite died yesterday at the age of 92.
I am one of the millions of people who used to watch Walter Cronkite on the the CBS Evening News every night. I heard him announce the news of some of the biggest events of my lifetime, including the landing on the moon, the assassination of Martin Luther King, and the futility of the war in Vietnam. Walter Cronkite was a constant presence in my life for years.
With all of the accolades and memories and film clips of his broadcasts, there is one particular characteristic of Walter Cronkite that I would like to emphasize.
Walter Cronkite lived a heroic authentic life story. Actually, his life is a series of heroic stories.
The essence of a hero’s story is that something happens to upset the typical order of things, and the hero chooses to act to resolve what is wrong. Heroic actions always benefit others, and often come at high cost to the hero. In the process, the hero becomes a different person, and the world becomes a better place.
This is the essence of the life of Walter Cronkite, played out again and again.
An obvious example is his heroism during World War II, when he risked his life to get the story from the front lines.
But rather than emphasize these obviously heroic exploits, such as when he parachuted into France to cover D-Day, I would like to emphasize his heroic approach to his position as anchor of the CBS News.
As a measure of a heroic life, consider the most commonly repeated words about him. “Walter Cronkite was the most trusted man in America.”
At one time, his audience was so large, and his image so credible, that a 1972 poll determined he was “the most trusted man in America” – surpassing even the president, vice president, members of Congress and all other journalists. In a time of turmoil and mistrust, after Vietnam and Watergate, the title was a rare feat – and the label stuck. Most Trusted Man In America
Walter Cronkite was trusted because he was authentic.
Why is this heroic? Because he saw clearly that whatever he said, and how he said it, had the power to affect other people, and he took that responsibility seriously.
Cronkite set the tone at the beginning of television news. He set the standards for television reporting, with his commitment to excellence and objectivity.
The story that is being told once again is that Walter Cronkite stepped away from that determined objectivity only once. He reported that the war in Vietnam was not winnable.
In 1968, Cronkite returned from visiting Vietnam and declared on television: “It seems now more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is a stalemate.” President Lyndon Johnson, on hearing that, reportedly said, “If I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost America.” Not long after, Johnson declared his intention not to run for re-election. Vietnam Is A Stalemate
This was a heroic moment, when Cronkite “spoke truth to power.”
This is the essence of heroism. He risked his reputation, to speak the truth as he saw it, and in the process, triggered the beginning of the end of the misbegotten tragedy called the War in Vietnam.
Most of us will never have the kind of persuasive impact that Walter Cronkite had, as he reported the news during a tumultuous time in history. But his life is a reminder of the heroic effect of being authentic—true to your beliefs, your values, and your word, and willing to do what is hard, because it is the right thing to do. Walter Cronkite, heroic newsman, made the world a better place because he was heroically authentic.
Kalinda Rose Stevenson
The Story ReTeller
