On Meeting Famous and/or Powerful People – Good, Bad, and Ugly (my opinions)
I’ll start with a definite “good”. Directly across the street from the Biblical Seminary in New York City where I went to school lived Katherine Hepburn. One day when coming out of the seminary I saw her across the street loading some things into her car. “Once in a lifetime” I said to myself, so I walked across the street and said something like “I very much admire your work, Ms. Hepburn”. She smiled and replied in her throating voice: “Thank you very much” and went about her business. Her Connecticut license plate read “KH1”.
Now for a “bad”. Viktor Frankl, was a psychiatrist, and wrote a best-selling book The Search for Meaning. A college where I was teaching back in the day invited him to spend a few days on our campus telling his life story. Two of my student friends served as his “hosts” while he was on campus, and it soon turned very sour. His talks were insightful and interesting, but in private conversations Dr. Frankl turned out to be a very self-centered person who showed no interest in his hosts or the college itself. Indeed, he sent the two students out to buy newspapers that carried stories about his talks. He never even learned their names.
Michael Novak was an outstanding professor of religion at Stanford and became quite famous for his anti-war views during the Viet Nam conflict. A couple of years later we asked him to speak and visit classes at a different college where I had joined the faculty, and not only had he changed his views about America’s involvement in that war, but he showed no interest in hearing any questions about his latest book from my students. He was soon to abandon his academic career in order to attend the Vatican Two sessions being held in Rome. Not only was he rude and impatient with the students in the seminar he held about writing, but he no longer had any respect for anti-governmental ideas. His visit turned quite sour, indeed even a bit “ugly”.
On an entirely opposite note, when I went to a lecture by Reinhold Niebuhr the famous religious thinker of the 1960s, I stayed behind afterward in order to make a personal request. I had recently written a Master’s Thesis on Dr. Niebur’s thought and asked him if he would read and “tear it up” for me. Immediately at my words “tear it up” his finger went to his mouth as he said gently: “Oh no. I wouldn’t do that.” I was taken aback by the humility of the tone in his voice, but he did take a copy of my thesis and even wrote to me a few days later, expressing pleasure with it, but working at clarifying one of his major points. A clear “good”.
During the year I spent directing our college’s “Semester Abroad” program in London I was invited to speak to the graduate seminar in philosophy of religion being offered by John Hick, a very renowned thinker in this field at Manchester University. This was, indeed, a really great honor for me at that time in my career. I had been in some exchange of letters with Professor Hick in previous years, but it was truly an honor for him to invite me to address his class. All went well until after dinner at his home Professor Hick proceeded to whop me in ping pong. It meant a great deal to me for him to receive me as a colleague at that time in my career, and even later when he recommended me for a couple of academic positions. John Hick was a first-rate thinker, teacher, and friend. He gets a “good.”
At a completely different place and time, I was fired from my professorship because I had courted and married a student. Unfortunately, I did not ask for a formal explanation of the college’s decision, even though nothing was ever said officially as to the reason for my dismissal. As it turned out, both the Dean and President at that time turned out to be having difficulties of their own, although of a completely different nature. In the end, however, the Dean in question called me into his office and apologized for his decision to fire me because it was, as he admitted, strictly a personal dislike for some of my theological views. Although I would give an “ugly” grade to him and the college for their combined behavior, I must award the Dean a grade of “good” for in the end having personal courage and honesty.
Leave a Reply