And That's the Way It Is

The most trusted American, Walter Cronkite, is no longer among the living. I’ve heard it said that George Clooney doesn’t want to live in a world without Walter, and if that’s true, I agree. Trust can be so easily betrayed, many times beyond repair. That Cronkite lived his 92 years in such a way that he never forfeited trust is a tribute to his almost superhuman stature. The only other man that I can think of who may be able to inherit Cronkite’s title is Barack Obama, and he’s barely past the halfway mark. Over the years, quite inadvertently and unintentionally, I have betrayed the trust of those I most love. Misperception, misunderstanding, and the failure to put others before self have contributed to breaches that at times have seemed irreparable. Trust is the critical element of love. Without trust, love cannot exist. Trust must be earned, and earning it back is infinitely more difficult than never violating it in the first place. I cannot think of a higher distinction than to be proclaimed the most trusted person in America, and while I have already dashed any hopes of being myself thought of in such a way, I thank Walter Cronkite for demonstrating that the standard is humanly possible and worthy of emulation even by those of us who have failed.