God, Family, Country

Larry’s storytelling post about Watergate, and Marlo’s comment, made me consider that perhaps it was time to dig deeper and find my personal connection.  I missed Watergate, yet I have seen the film.  I know  about the scandal because growing up, my parents talked all the time about the news.

This is not my picture. I am experiencing technical difficulties.

I remember my Dad bemoaning the lack of a ‘Woodward and Bernstein’ during the Iran-Contra affair. We spent summer nights, and part of a shore vacation, watching the Oliver North trial.  He insisted I watch ‘All the President’s Men’, twice, that month.  He and my mother would debate, regroup, and several days later debate some more.  We kids would listen, and learn.

My Dad was a truck driver who used to relish the opportunity to pick up ‘other’ city newspapers, like the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Detroit Free Press.  As a very young man, Dad got the idea that the Constitution was his to protect and promote forever.   Perhaps it was during Vietnam.  He took that oath to ‘protect and defend the Constitution’ when he was inducted into the Army, and he took it seriously.

The press and its watchdog function are the keystone to our democracy.  Learning about journalism is a patriotic act. Perhaps teaching it, and well, is patriotic too.

Bridget Parker
Seton-La Salle High School
Pittsburgh, PA