The voice that guided us through our darkest hours...has gone silent.

[serai]

.
RIP Walter Cronkite.

Apollo 11 Moon Landing, with Walter Cronkite reporting


He was always there. Every evening, the most dependable father-figure we Americans had spoke to us in grave, avuncular tones about what went on the world - accomplishments, tragedies, wars, deaths, elections, disasters, celebrations, and all the other events that shaped our daily lives. Presidents, kings, movie stars, popes, came and went with the years, but Walter Cronkite was always there.


He was there during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world was on the edge of its collective seat, terrified that a single misstep would lead to death for millions and millions. He guided us through, gentling our fears.

He was there when President Kennedy was assassinated, when Martin Luther King was murdered, when Bobby Kennedy was taken from us. He held our hands through the medium of television, weeping with us, consoling our terrible griefs.

He was there at the event whose anniversary we celebrate this week, the Apollo 11 moon landing, awestruck at the impossible accomplishment, smiling and celebrating with us all as we realized how very much we could do if we truly wanted, if we pulled together.

It's been a long time since Walter sat in that chair to tell us each night what was going on in the world. So many of us have missed him terribly - his studiousness, his dependability, his craft. Those who have inherited the post have been lesser, each year becoming more trivial, more self-involved, more eager to insert their own opinions and personalities into what should be an impartial, non-judgmental service. The news is no longer news, sad to say. It's now entertainment, and no one on the airwaves can be trusted the way we trusted Walter, that is to say, absolutely, implicitly, with no doubt or hesitation. The people he told us about might not have deserved our trust, but Walter? Always.


Goodbye, old friend. Goodbye, trusted advisor. Goodbye, sir. You were the Grandfather Of Us All, and there will never be anyone like you.


*weeps*

Comments

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

:(

This was a really lovely tribute.

[fantasy-fan.livejournal.com]

This made me cry too. The world has changed, hasn't it, and not necessarily for the better.

[lindmere.livejournal.com]

Indeed, among all the pronouncements that "there will never be another Walter Cronkite," the media have not asked themselves why.

[aliensouldream.livejournal.com]

Those who have inherited the post have been lesser, each year becoming more trivial, more self-involved, more eager to insert their own opinions and personalities into what should be an impartial, non-judgmental service.

So true. This should be emblazoned above teleprompts the world over. Very incisive tribute.