American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver airs tonight on PBS
American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver airs tonight on PBS from 10 - 11.30pm. Shriver was the founder of the Peace Corps, VISTA, Community Action, Head Start, Legal Services for the Poor, Youth Corps, Job Corps, and the Special Olympics and headed President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty. American Idealist is written and produced by Bruce Orenstein and is part of the Chicago Video Project. My husband, Fordham University professor James T. Fisher, speaks about Shriver, disabilities, and the Special Olympics.
An article in the New York Times contains an interview with Shriver’s daughter and First Lady of California, Maria Shriver. An excerpt from a review of the film in the Los Angeles Times:
The issues that Shriver tried to address — poverty, education, healthcare, public participation in the democratic process and the domestic cost of pursuing an aggressive foreign policy — are precisely the issues this country faces today. Imagine a politician who could rally today’s privileged youth into signing up for programs like the Peace Corps or VISTA. Imagine a man or woman who would sincerely pledge to end severe poverty in this country, soon and permanently. A politician who made controversial decisions simply because they were the right thing to do.
Watching “Idealist,” it is almost impossible not to wonder just what has happened to this country. How did we lose all that energy, that hope and dedication, that call for personal duty as members of a democracy, that belief not only that we the people could make a difference, but also that we had a responsibility to make a difference? Now 92 and in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease, Sargent Shriver has slipped beyond the demands of his nation. We can only hope that someone at some point will try to take his place.
A “responsibility to make a difference”: Yes, that’s what I feel called to do, for Charlie and to try to make this world a better place.
3 opinions for American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver airs tonight on PBS
ange
Jan 21, 2008 at 1:37 pm
*snip*
A “responsibility to make a difference”: Yes, that’s what I feel called to do, for Charlie and to try to make this world a better place.
*endsnip*
Exactly! I feel a deep stirring, but at the same time, it can get so overwhelming I just want to gather my family under my arms and retreat to some place simple and not so contaminated by all the things that bring me so much anxiety!
Kristina Chew, PhD
Jan 21, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I know what you mean—-just got off the phone with another mother at Charlie’s school. She’s one of the moms in charge of the “5th Grade Yearbook” — doesn’t have a child in Charlie’s class — I am late with the form. She kept telling me, don’t worry, you don’t have to bother, don’t let it be a “burden.” Me: But Charlie needs to be included, he IS a student at the school though not integrated in many settings with his same-aged peers, they should know that he has been a part of their school (and he about them).
I managed to say all that without sounding too annoyed that I had to say it in the first place—I guess I see that as one way I can make a small difference, for Charlie and our family, one 5th grade yearbook page at a time.
Media Mentions
Jan 21, 2008 at 9:04 pm
A breed of politician that is facing extinction (Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan 2008, Page E17)
http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/showlink.aspx?bookmarkid=W0R9E0D8MJH6&preview=article&linkid=6c0eb3c8-8a8d-4b85-ba49-65c321999fef&pdaffid=ZVFwBG5jk4Kvl9OaBJc5%2bg%3d%3d
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