Power to the People tour comes to St. Kate's
Power to the people! This was the message of Laura Ingraham, the most-listened-to woman on political talk radio, when she spoke at The College of St. Catherine in St. Paul on Sept. 20, 2007. Ingraham, who hosts a conservative talk show on AM1280 The Patriot weekdays from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. was in the Twin Cities as part of her Power to the People book tour.
An hour before Laura was scheduled to speak, the National Weather Service issued a severe weather warning for Ramsey County. Torrents of rain began pouring down, small pellets of hail beat against cars and the wind raged. Laura’s fans and loyal listeners were not deterred—although dripping wet, they poured into the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium eager to see and hear Laura.
Ingraham did not disappoint her audience. She also braved the storm and appeared for her talk, dressed in a smart and sassy white and coral dress, pumps and an elegant gold cross hung from her neck. Earlier that day, her book, Power to the People, debuted number one on the New York Times Best Seller List. Ingraham was quick to communicate her tour’s mission to the audience: “This is not about me or this book. This is about America. We have a culture in crisis.”
Power to the People is Ingraham’s second book. After writing her first book, Shut Up and Sing, Laura said that she promised herself that she would never write another book. However, after braving a bout of breast cancer and losing her own mother to lung cancer, she said that she took a very close look at the meaning of her life. She told herself that, “I’d better make whatever time I have on this earth matter. … So that brought me to this moment. I’m here to talk to you about this country.”
Laura’s message was one of urgency and empowerment. She told the crowd that, “If we don’t stand up and do something … we’ll wake up in 10 years and we will not recognize our country, and I mean that.” Laura reminded us of the fact that 9/11 was six years ago, but many Americans have already forgotten about it. “Did we do the best we could do? Power to the People is about our willingness to stand up to those who would tear this country down.”
Laura said that one of the things she is taking away from her tour is a special experience she had while touring in Kansas City. After her talk, she was signing books and was very tired and just wanted to go back to her hotel. Suddenly, a little 12-year-old girl named Jessica came up to her and held up a picture of what, “looked like either an aborted fetus or a really ill child,” recalled Ingraham. The little girl told Laura: “That’s a picture of me.”
Jessica’s father was standing next her and he told Laura that she was born 16 weeks early and the doctors advised her mother to abort her. Her mother had breast cancer and refused to take the treatments that could have saved her, but would likely have killed Jessica. The man said: “This is my daughter. My wife is not here tonight. Thank you for standing up for the vulnerable.”
Laura told this story as a way to explain her overall mission for her own life and to inspire others to take action as well. “Until my last breath … I will do my part. I’m your voice. I will raise awareness about our troops and the central importance of family and faith. … If we do the family thing well … and resist what our culture tells us … we can weather any crisis on the horizon.”
Laura struck me as very genuine and passionate about emboldening the American people to get up and take action. She wanted to wake us up and remind us that the “power” to be free is vested in us—the American people. We cannot let this power slip away. For instance, Laura said that if we see an ad on TV at 7 p.m. that is morally reprehensible, instead of “staying numb and hoping someone else does the heavy lifting,” we need to take action—call our neighbors and ask them if they saw same ad and then rally family and friends together to petition the offending business to be morally accountable for its marketing. She warned that, “without virtue, a society is not possible—certainly not in the long-term.”
Laura said that the only thing that matters to the television networks is “how many eyeballs are on the screen—not what you leave behind (through corrupt ads), how girls view themselves, how boys view girls … we can all sit here and complain or we can do something about it. Despite the challenges on the horizon, I am extremely optimistic about this country.”
Ingraham empowered and motivated the audience to action, reminding us that, “Each and every one of us has meaning in our lives. God has a plan for humanity and we can ignore Him, but eventually most of us come around. We cannot bury our heads in the sand. When I think about sacrifice and each of us giving something of ourselves: Time, wisdom … writing a check … that is America. This land is important enough for you and it certainly is for me to stand up for. Life is more than consuming or complaining.”
Ingraham began her speech by saying that she would not be doing what she’s doing today if it were not for the influence of former President Ronald Reagan. She ended her speech by sharing the story of how he impacted her and inspired her to influence society in a meaningful way. She said, “He was the reason that I found all of this interesting and was so pumped!”
When she was 22 years old and a young “peon” doing work in the White House, she was incredibly nervous as she walked into Reagan’s office to have a five minute goodbye with the President. She recalled that as she reached out to shake Reagan’s hand, she informed him, “Mr. President, I think I’m going to faint.” “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you,” was his cheerful response.
Later, as she was filing out of the room to leave, she passed by the President again and he called out, “Laura.” “Yes, Mr. President,” she responded. “Make it matter,” Reagan directed her. Laura said that these three words of Reagan’s, “Make it matter,” have followed her throughout her life and inspired her to live an active and meaningful life.
We all can take inspiration and encouragement from Laura Ingraham and her inspiration, President Ronald Reagan, as we begin our quest to restore power to the people and virtue to society.