Contemporary Issues Forum : Ken Burns

Well tonight was the big night, legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns was on campus today.  He was speaking in The Coe College Contemporary Issues Forum which according to Coe's website is this:


"Established by the late K. Raymond Clark '30, the Contemporary Issues Forum presents the views of distinguished leaders whose work has shaped and altered the course of world events.  The forum has featured former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, former Poland President Lech Walesa, deep-sea oceanographer Robert Ballard, civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau and ecology expert Jared Diamond."


Another tidbit of information about Mr. Clark that was found in my program:


"Though declining the suggestion that the CIF (Contemporary Issues Forum) bear his name, Mr. Clark did accept the college's proposal to hold the annual Forum in February, the month of his birth."  


The speech was given in Sinclair Auditorium to a packed house.  I was able to snag a seat on the floor the auditorium, right side about three-fourths of the way back.  It was an excellent seat, despite the large distance between me and Ken Burns.  


A clip of Mr. Burn's World War II documentary was shown to start the night.  After the clip concluded, Mr. Burns came to the podium.  He is a brilliant speaker, extremely eloquent with a rich array of vocabulary.  He also had a large love for Abraham Lincoln and he constantly quoted the tall man with the black hat who fought to keep the US together in one of our darkest hours.  The hour he talked past by in a blur; I sat, riveted in my seat, frantically writing down what he said in my Moleskin notebook.  What he said rang so true to me that even today, almost twenty-four hours after he spoke, rereading the things I wrote down, I can still hear this voice, booming through the auditorium sharing his stories and insight.  I've included some of my favorite quotes, the ones the really rang true to me.  


"Who are we?" 
" We thought we were invincible." 
"Wars aren't going to disappear just because we wish they would." 
"We're in the business of words....our insight is diminished by volume."
"The mystic chords of memory"
"I will never run out of stories." 
Why does Mr. Burns make films?  Because he's trying to wake the dead.  


I still can't get over what a powerful and moving speaker Mr. Burns was.  He stood at the podium with an absolute confidence and grace.  His words and stories flowed out of him, the sign of being well rehearsed and comfortable with a full house.  Once he was done speaking, we all rose to our feet to give him a standing ovation.  


Coe: Thank you for bringing Mr. Burns to campus.  I was inspired.