Broadcast icon sees Coakleys as heroes
CANTON — As the former managing editor and anchor of "NBC Nightly News," Tom Brokaw has interviewed everyone from Mikhail Gorbachev to Steve Jobs.
But, as he told an audience of 450 at St. Lawrence University on Wednesday, it's the everyday heroes he remembers most. Like Thomas F. Coakley, the college's vice president for academic operations, and his wife, Nellie.
The broadcast icon met the Coakleys at a veterans event about 10 years ago and later decided to feature the couple — Vietnam War veterans who met at Walter Reed Army Hospital — in his best-selling book, "Boom! Voices of the Sixties: Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today."
"I wondered about that couple in the corner," Mr. Brokaw said. "We were able to happily find them and write their story. I think they are emblematic of that generation tried by war."
The Coakleys took front-row seats in SLU's Gulick Theatre on Wednesday as Mr. Brokaw recounted milestone events of the past and laid out a vision of the future, in a talk titled "Life Is Not Virtual."
"We are living in a time which I call the second Big Bang. A new universe is being created," he said of the ubiquity of computing and the Internet. "Every day people use this technology — the power of their fingertips, the bowels of their servers — they know their world is limited only by their imagination."
Mr. Brokaw recounted the aftermath of another time of great change — the 1960s. With the skill of a storyteller, he tied the tumultuous events of that decade into a compelling reflection on America today.
"We are simply the stewards of the legacy of those who went before. We have no greater obligation," he said. "It seems to me that with all that we have available to us now, all the resources that are here, we have no greater obligation to one another than to — in this election year, especially — to raise our hands and re-enlist as citizens of the United States."
He listed the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rising price of oil and global warming as challenges the next president will face.
Mr. Brokaw also responded to an audience member's concern about her son serving with the Army in Afghanistan.
"That could not be more important," he said. "Not too far from here, at Fort Drum, wives, and husbands for that matter, are worried every day that the phone will ring or they'll get that knock on the door."
He reflected on the greater access to information that has come from the Internet revolution — and the greater responsibility consumers now face in judging and choosing their news sources.
Mr. Brokaw also expressed concerns with technology's ability to isolate people.
"If we develop capacity and leave out compassion, what is the reward? If speed overruns reason, if we wire our world, but short-circuit our souls?" he asked.
Mr. Brokaw also spoke of the "greatest generation," whom he also has written about — those raised in the Depression who fought in World War II and made the U.S. into a superpower. He sees the proliferation of technology as our next big chance to create change.
"Step forward, whatever our beliefs, whatever our party affiliation, whatever our hopes and goals, and say, 'Here I stand. Take measure. I too, want to make a difference in my time,'" he concluded, to applause.
Mr. Brokaw served for 21 years as anchor and managing editor of "NBC Nightly News," where he remains a special correspondent. He continues to report and produce long-form documentaries and provide expertise on breaking news events. He has received numerous honors, including the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award and an Emmy for lifetime achievement.
