"And That's the Way it Is": A Life Lesson We Can Learn from Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite passed in July 2009. He was one of the biggest, if not the biggest name in the news. He didn't so much make the news, but he reported the news... and what a job he did reporting the news. For decades he impacted people's lives through what he said through the television at a certain time every day. He broadcasted many events that were major in years past - the King assassination, man reaching the moon, the Watergate scandal - these events and more were brought to us via television under his reign in the world of broadcasting. From what I heard about him through watching an overview of the life and legacy on CNN and other stations, one statement he was famous for saying at the end of his broadcasts was, "... and that's the way it is." I thought about that statement, and not a truer statement has been made.

Walter Cronkite used it to reference the world as we know it. Basically, it is what it is. He didn't try and sugarcoat the news; he didn't make bad news good, nor did he make good news bad. He made news personal to you. He put his energy and emotion into it and brought it to you to share with him and with others around you that were watching with you. He just told it like it is and that's what made him one of the greatest.

Walter Cronkite was more than a news anchor; I believe he was a truth-teller. He had to tell hard facts to people everyday for years. He was trusted to bring us factual details in a way that we could process the information and then do whatever we wanted to with it. Whether it was discuss it, cry about it, be glad about it, the news was the news, and that's the way it is. The same with the truth, once you tell it, then you're responsible for how you handle it. If you decide to share it, then you have to give it the way it was given to you, no alterations, just the as-is truth.

I didn't know Walter Cronkite personally, but from watching different people talk about him, he seemed like a great guy. The one thing I will take away from his life is that statement - "and that's the way it is." Why that statement? Because it's a truthful statement. When things don't go the way you want them to go, when life isn't what you thought it would be, when you feel like you're nowhere near your purpose... there is a destiny for you. There is a better day ahead. There are times when you have to go through a process in order to get to the predestined end. With God's help you can make it through any difficulty, any test, any adjustment, any transition, any thing. Even in news broadcasting, Walter was never alone, he had producers, editors, and other people helping him present the news - the same with us in life. We're not alone in this life. We have a responsibility to present our lives to those around us, and to the One who made us. If we don't, we'll just become old news.

Walter Cronkite was a media icon, and if nothing else he said has mattered to you, if you aren't old enough to remember his first or last news story shared... remember these few words about life... life is what you make of it, so go and make a world out of it that you'd want others to enjoy. Life is a process, and sometimes the process isn't fun, but it is what it is. Take a lesson from Walter Cronkite's work... news is news, life is life, God is God... and that's the way it is.