General Colin Powell–what a cool guy! He has a corvette (it’s gray, not red), he used to have his own personal plane, and he gets free hot dogs on the streets of New York. As part of Miami University’s Distinguished Lecture Series, General Powell gave an incredible speech a couple of days ago, and I was fortunate enough to be in attendance. The bus ride was crowded and long and the weather was freezing, but the trip to Millett Hall was well worth it. I must say that I was very impressed with Gen. Powell and his speech–he was extremely well spoken, and he held the audience’s attention the entire time. His ability to get his messages across while using a wide variety of humor made the speech an enjoyable thing to hear.
Gen. Powell touched on a variety of subjects, both on a personal and world level, including his past war experiences, his second retirement, the issue of terrorism and 9/11, the strength of American patriotism, the war in Iraq, immigration, the K-12 educational system, and more. He explained the importance of becoming involved and giving back to the community, as well as not hiding from your problems and facing reality head on. I thought his story about his experience of being stopped and searched by security at the airport to be quite ironic considering, as Gen. Powell said, that he was the one who had implemented the added security procedures following 9/11. Particularly touching was the story about the hot dog vendor in New York City. Powell grabbed the complete attention of everyone listening as he told of the vendor’s gratefulness to be in America. The story really illustrates the hope that America provides to those who come here searching for a new and better life. I also enjoyed what Gen. Powell had to say about leadership. He said something to the extent of “Good leaders inspire, not motivate. The best leaders can inspire followers, so they can do things through self-motivation.”
Overall, General Powell’s speech was well delivered, and it conveyed a positive message. I was impressed with how he answered some of the ridiculous questions that were asked at the end. One individual dared to try to correct Gen. Powell, which was uncalled for. That person should be, as someone from the audience yelled, “tased.” Nevertheless, attending the lecture was well worth my time, and I feel very fortunate and grateful to have had the opportunity to hear such a great man and role model speak.
