Some Observations about Tim Russert's passing

I have some observations about the passing of Tim Russert. I have never seen such press coverage on the death of a news media person such as Tim Russert. His death was sudden and shocking and it has obviously shaken the entire media. I think that part of the reason for this is that Tim Russert was an anomaly. He was smart, competent, and fair. Sadly, in the world of media, he was the exception to the rule----which is rather sad.

Here are some observations.

First, Russert was a friend to everyone and a friend to no one. He was gregarious and friendly and treated everyone with dignity and respect. On the other hand, he was beholden to no one. It didn't matter what party you were from or what biases you had. Russert wanted to find out about the person and not spin what the person was saying. His questions were hard and fair. The interesting thing is that he was, in his own way, a great professor who gave great exams. Great exams are not about trickery, but about helping a person to process knowledge. Russert enabled knowledge to come forward.

Russert was also smart and capable. If you were going to get interviewed by him he will have read everything about you that he could find and would be quite aware of comments you had made on a variety of subjects. His interviews were actually easy to prepare for; you just had to know your stuff. He was insulted if you didn't.

Russert was also the kind of person whose faith was prominent and real and not there to 'spin' a perspective. I lived what he believed and didn't force it down everyone's throats. He was simply a very decent man who did his job well, practiced his faith, and delighted in his family.

One thing I have learned from all of this and one thing I do sincerely attempt to practice is to seek the truth where it actually is as opposed to where I want it to be. Anyone educated in a Jesuit school or in an institution that followed some solid Jesuit principles, learned some foundational things. Having had the opportunity to be in that kind of setting, I try to follow that.

The biggest thing of all is to search for the right answer, to search for the truth, and to appreciate the process. The key thing is that you have to search for the truth where it actually is as opposed to where you want it to be.

The most common method of 'truth seeking' now is not done in this manner. People, both in religion and politics, tend to follow the same path.

First, they determine what the truth actually is, cement it in place, decree it to be their principles of life, and then go about trying to prove that they are correct. The only time you read or listen to the ideas of another person is to find good ways to refute them. Increasingly looking at other perspectives has become something people do less and less.

Finding the truth does not work like that. Finding the truth starts at a starting point that is no where. It is not beginning with the conclusion, it's beginning with the search for facts to ultimately find the real answer as opposed to what we want it to be.

It was a process that Russert learned and used. It's a process I like to believe that I try to follow.

It is also a reminder to us, and a lesson to us, that it's not always the conclusion that is important, but the journey.