Dan Rather is on Facebook

I don't know that I have been happier to have a celeb account to follow. With 2016 claiming the voices of my youth at an accelerated rate, this account soothes my sore heart. Dan Rather's voice, his reporting style, are a touchstone of real news that has been sorely lacking in my life. Disgusted by the cavalier attitude toward truth and the commercialization of news-that-isn't, I gave up on TV. Only have Netflix for entertainment. And I have no news outlets worth searching out. I had none until a few days ago when I discovered Mr.Rather's account.

Influential Integrity. When I wrote my research papers in school I wanted them to be as informative but also of a style of his news reports. I don't believe I ever quite made the caliber of writing and presenting that I wanted. But I tried. I wanted to be honest and engaging even with the assigned subjects that were monotonously boring. Mostly though, I wanted what I wrote to matter because of Mr. Rather.

Mr. Rather and the men of 60 Minutes were the only news source my dad would trust. Grampa was a little more out there, trusting Louis Rukyser for finance and a handful of news agents in Detroit. Grampa had cable. For dad, it was only those select few that he trusted. And that trust trickled down to me. Never one to be a blind follower, I had formed my own opinions. My trust stems from the fact that there has not ever been fallout around his stories, nothing was ever made up or exaggerated. If it wasn't true he didn't speak it.

As I am cruising through his articles posted to facebook, I find the same kind of integrity and interest that I had grown to appreciate. I can read it in his voice and feel the same confidence that I knew when I was a kid. Someone out there is looking out for us, watching the world and our home front. While he is no longer the voice of the CBS Evening News he is still the voice of reason, of moderation. He is a living archetype for thinking before speaking or acting.

This info-nerd could not be happier. He is also the voice of an internet/satellite program which I will have to do my best to find. Now if 2016 will just leave him alone.