NEWS
NORMAN, OKLA. – During the University of Oklahoma’s Presidential Speakers Series dinner on Feb. 26, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and best-selling author Peggy Noonan spoke about the importance of perspective.
OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. began the event by thanking University of Oklahoma Board of Regents members, a former state of Oklahoma governor and legislators, and Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey for attending, joining the crowd of more than 700 guests.
Harroz opened the event by praising the evening’s guest speaker, Peggy Noonan, as a “masterful storyteller,” and one “who accompanied so many for so long with such great impact.”
Noonan, former speechwriter and special assistant to President Ronald Reagan, discussed the importance of keeping a level head, “putting a premium on calm and cool thinking and conversation.”
“We are a divided country,” Noonan said. “But we have been a divided country for as long as I can remember. We all love America and want it to succeed. We must watch, observe and think.”
Noonan recalled her time during the Reagan Administration and provided parallels between the 1980s and the current state of the country under President Donald Trump. She said that it appeared that people wanted to do too much, too fast—to shake things up for the sake of change.
This chaos is interpreted by people on both sides of the American political spectrum according to who they support. Many adore it, while others have been deflated by it, she continued.
“My democrat friends in New York are down in the dumps,” Noonan said. “My republican friends think they have a mandate by winning the White House, the House (of Representatives) and the (United States) Senate, as well as the popular vote for the first time since 2004, but I want to exercise caution to both sides.”
Noonan opined that many in the current administration were acting like “supermen” to reminisce about a story about former boxing world champion Muhammad Ali on a flight during the peak of his career.
“The airline attendant approached Ali and asked him to fasten his seatbelt during the flight,” Noonan said. “Ali, with all his charisma and confidence, looked at her and said, ‘Superman don’t need no seat belt.’ The attendant looked at him and responded, ‘Superman don’t need no airplane, buckle up.’”
The New York Times bestselling author again drew parallels between 40th president of the United States, who is often referred to as a populist president, to which Noonan disagrees, and President Trump, to provide what she believes is the necessary context for the collective American path moving forward.
“I want this administration to succeed because I want America to succeed,” Noonan said. “The world sees us as an inspiration, an example. I would hate to let them down. But know the difference between being bold and wild. Bold is good, wild is not,” she concluded.
Learn more about the University of Oklahoma Presidential Speaker Series at https://www.ou.edu/president/speakerseries
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.
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