Transcripts For CSPAN2 20090609

we were pursuing are necessary policies. i think it's a very tough, tough problem. i think, you know, finding ways that we can support and bolster the pakistani military so that it's able to more effectively fight against the taliban and fight against those forces that are coming over the borders are crucial. i think the president's decision to send more troops into afghanistan is also very important. the fact that we've got general petraeus at centcom who was so important and influential in the decision to surge our troops into iraq also gives me comfort. i think he understands, you know, what's necessary although, obviously, the situations are very, very different ones. but it is a huge challenge. and i suspect that -- i hope -- i hope that you'll continue to see the current administration recognize the importance of going after bad guys inside pakistan. >> thank you. >> thanks. [applause] >> thank you. >> our coverage of the conservative leadership ends with remarks from syndicated columnist rebecca hagelin. this is 30 minutes. >> hello, my i attend amherst college and i i'm a intern with the clare boothe luce policy institute. our next speaker is a political commentator and acclaimed author. she's been married for almost 25 years and is a proud mother of three children. she's served as the heritage foundation vice president of communications and marketing and is currently their senior communications fellow. she's worked in public relations for center of conservative studies for concerned women in america. she formed her own consulting business and was vice president of communications at world net daily.com. she's been a strong conservative voice for many years advocating a profamily message and challenging our morally bankrupt society. she's written two books on the very subject, home invasion, proceeding your family and culture that's gone stark raving mad and 30 ways in 30 days to save your family. it's made "the washington post" bestseller list. the clare boothe luce policy institute named her one of the top conservative women and she was featured in the institute's annual calendar. her safeguarding of a traditional family in a leftist society is helpful and practical and inspirational. please join me in welcoming mrs. rebecca hagelin. >> i was seated in a room not unlike this one as an intern in washington. between my junior year and senior year in college and i fell in love in washington. as somebody who grew up in florida with a family that was active in changing our world and in changing lives, i knew early on that it was my calling to try to influence the culture around me. and coming to washington was really one of the smartest things that i did and then returning after i graduated and hitting the pavement looking for that first job was very critical. you see behind me three statements with the clare boothe luce institute inspiring women, discover leaders and changing lives and i would like to focus on the changing lives segment today. and how each one of you can impact your culture and your country's future. many times when we are at this age in our lives that you are, we feel a little uncertain about what our calling is in our life. well, i would submit to you that your greatest calling in life is to truly make a difference, first of all, in the lives of people that are around you. and when you do so, you are impacting the culture around you and the country at large. one of the issues to focus on today is the whole notion of heroes. i've done a lot of writing and researching on this subject recently and i have to say that my generation pretty much owes you guys an apology. and specifically in the media and culture that we've been feeding you the pop culture. and as a representative of the generation that is creating and distorting the images of what a hero really is, i want to say i'm sorry. but i also want to say i have great faith that your generation can change all of that. i received an email recently when i was writing my latest book about the culture and how parents can help take back their families from a teacher of fourth grade. and when i read that email, i became very much aware at how much damage we had done through the pop culture, through the pornography, through the glorifying of pop icons and sports stars and entertainment figures over real heroes, how much damage we'd been doing to the younger generations. this particular teacher had given an assignment to her fourth grade class. to write down a type of hero they would like to become. and over 50% of the boys put that they wanted to do something related to some sort of crime activity. even one of them stating he wanted to be a hitman. their role models and they're cons were people like madonna and 50 cent and rap stars. not one mentioned a military hero. not one mentioned becoming a politician or a statesman. not one mentioned becoming somebody that would give back to others. well, i would submit that that is enough evidence right there to show what we've done with the word "heroes." my goodness i'm sorry we've probably even ruined batman for the younger generation. when i was a kid batman was the superhero because he was all about doing good in the world. well, we know that even today the super heroes in a lot of the comic books are sinister. they've got something in their past and they become very angry and bitter over there. and today's comic book characters that are created by adults of my generation are really have robbed those super heroes from the younger ones. i mean, my goodness batman is not appropriate the latest one for a 10-year-old to go see. my 21-year-old son informed me of that. that it's not appropriate for younger kids. but the good news that we have plenty of heroes to look at our country. we have our military heroes. i'm proud to say that i am a navy wife. my husband is actually retired from the reserves. he did not see combat in our married lives as far as having to get out in the middle of the bombs flowing although he was off the beirut -- and had to attend to that and the terrorists -- we were fighting then are the same guys we're still fighting now. it's going to be up to your generation to actually finish that job. many of you will be called to serve as some point in the arm services. many of you will be called to serve in other ways of saving lives. but i would submit to you that heroes are also people who are culture warriors. who make a difference in their communities and actually give up something in their own life on behalf of others. not necessarily always their own physical life. but heroes are people who are marked by their character, by their noble deeds. and all of you have an opportunity to do that. so i would say to you, what is it that you would do with your life today? and how can you get there? and i would offer four simple steps for you. the first one is to have a vision. the good book says without a vision the people perish. maybe that's why our declaration of independence and our constitution start with vision statements. our founding fathers who were well versed in the bible understood the need to have a vision. and they understood the need to write it down and to be able to articulate it so other people could catch that vision. you're all familiar with it but i'll read it because i want you guys to understand the importance of carrying around your own document, the constitution and declaration of independence. if you don't have a pocket size one you should get one. because this is the document, the constitution part of this, that's being challenged everyday and abused everyday. and it's supposed to be what we go back to when we're deciding what votes are taking place in this very complex that we're in. it's supposed to be the document that's the guiding light. so you all should know that. in the declaration of independence, again, you're all familiar with it. we hold these truths to be self-evident. that all men are created equal. that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that's a vision statement. and then they went on in the declaration of independence to declare why that vision statement for all of mankind had been violated and why they were forming a new union. and then the constitution, again the very preamble is a vision statement. i read it to you once again just so you can see the importance of having it and being always able to refer to it if we have it. we the people in the united states in order to form a more perfect union establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and to our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the united states of america. it's a vision statement. so the first one is to have your vision statement. who else in modern times had a vision statement they could clearly articulate. how about martin luther king where he had a dream where people would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. because he had a vision statement he could articulate it and because he could articulate it he could inspire others to follow. ronald reagan, a vision statement. he had a dream that his hope would be that one day the world would be free of the threat of nuclear war. and so he invented and put forth the missile defense program which by the way right now is being chipped away by our current administration. but ronald reagan was a visionary. he had the vision of america that shining city on a hill. what is your vision? what is it that you're called to do. you can have several visions. you have your individual personal visions for your life and your relationships. which above all else are critical. one of the things i really try to focus on especially in my work in washington, d.c. is reminding all these great people that come to town to save the country, that if you save the country and you lose your family in the process, then you have really lost the heart and soul of who you are. so at this age and life before you are committed in relationships such as marriage and parenting, understand what your vision is for those relationships. and then when you have your vision, what do you do next? you step into your plan. how are you going to make that vision a reality? again, let's harken back to this great document, the constitution of the united states. is a plan on how to run a nation. it's a plan on how to debate issues. and how to elect government officials and how to protect those basic inalienable rights. what is your plan that fits with your vision statement? ronald reagan had a plan. what is your plan for your life? as part of your plan, always make sure that it includes role models. people who are older than you are who've been where you've been before, who you can ask for, for their advice. you are not meant to make it all up all by yourself. and i'm not meant to do that either. as i go through the various seasons in my life. i've always made it a point to have older role models and then to make them understand the importance and you should take this home too with you the importance of being a role model as well. your plan should always include both. anybody that is younger than you right now has the potential of viewing you as a role model. and what kind of role model are you? always seek to do both. to learn from those who've gone before you and to be ready to give every day of your life to those who are following behind you. and then, of course, after your plan, you absolutely have to have encourage. this battle that we're in particularly for conservative values for those timeless values that we know make america work, timeless values like a strong national defense that keeps our enemies at bay. timeless values like individual freedom and personal responsibility. timeless values like goth and faith and family and to others the golden rule is a timeless value. the timeless value of free markets of understanding that if we do our best and if we compete on fair grounds then all the people benefit, and free ideas and free speech. it takes courage to defend those when you come to washington and it takes courage when you go back home to defend those on your college campus. but at the end of the day, each night when you've been in a battle if you can put your head on your pillow and you can say, i may not have won today and i may have been the focus of scorn today, but i put my head on my pillow tonight resting in knowing that i stood up for what i believed in. and i was willing to make those sacrifices of a hero, then you can be proud of yourself and you are somebody who is becoming a true hero and then, of course, the last one is that undying commitment, an undying commitment. see, in the whole realm of courage and it goes hand-in-hand with the undying commitment, courage is not the absence of fear. courage is not even overcoming fear. courage is the act of acting in spite of your fear. and that's where commitment comes in to it. the men who signed the declaration of independence had great courage but they also made the commitment when they put their hand, when they wrote their name in pledging their sacred honors. what do you pledge your sacred honor to? what is your commitment? your word is your bond. when you give your word and you make the commitment, others need to be able to depend on you. especially, if you seek to be a leader. there's one story that i find very inspirational that i'll use as the example of commitment and then i'll be happy to take your questions. and it's a story from the 1992 barcelona olympics. there was a british runner by the name of derek redman who was poised to win the 400-meter race in the olympics. and he was in barcelona in one of the semifinal heats and he was running well. he was running fast. and all of a sudden a great pain engulfed his face as he fell to the track. when a previous injury burst forth. and the whole world watched as derek redmond stood back up to his face and in great pain and agony started limping toward the finish line with all of his dreams dashed. of not just winning a gold but of any medal at all. but what really happened that day was even more important than what derek redmond did and that was the panning of the cameras watching the crowd, a figure make their way through the crowd and down onto the track fighting the security with the same determination that derek redmond was making to the finish line this figure was making their way down to the track and the whole auditorium stood up in applause and cheering in ovation as this man beat off the security guards and ran up and the world watched as jim redmond put his arm around his son and together the two of them made it to the finish line. and jim redmond's words were, i did this for my son. i did this because of my commitment not just to the race but to him as a human being. we started this out together and we're going to finish it together, too. and i would submit that in whatever your calling is, that the way to be a role model and a true hero is by practicing all those things, especially, your undying commitment. thank you. [applause] >> now i'm happy to take any questions if any of you have them about culture, family, media, vision, et cetera. >> hi. i'm eva from amherst college. i just wanted to see what you thought about this. i notice that both you and bay buchanan touched on the word "character" and it's something that our society doesn't seem to value much anymore. and i'm a firm believer that the two most influential persons in shaping someone's character is their parents. what do you think about that? >> well, as a mom and by the way i have two children that are in your age range. i have a son who's 21 and a daughter who's 20 and a son who's 16. i would say the greatest calling for a woman who becomes a mother is to put everything she can into those precious lives that were placed in her precious arms. that's the greatest calling of dads too and we have a tremendous responsibility to shape the character every single day and to make it our focus. my books are all about that. are about that commitment everyday. i want my kids to know i love them enough to dare to challenge the status quo every single day. and to dare to build into them very purposefully those character qualities. but let me just quickly say, too, i know that it's very painful in our nation that for every 100 babies that are born in this country, 60 are born to a broken family. see, in 1950 for every 100 babies that were born in this country, 12 were born to a broken family. that is to a family out-of-wedlock or to a family that would soon suffer divorce. now that number is 60. and perhaps that's a pain that you deal with in your life. well, one of the great callingings of our lives is live from pain and overcome and vow that we don't repeat the pain that was caused to us. each day is a new day to start over and passing on character and commitment is very important to our kids. i would say one of the growth experiences of my life and one of the most joyous things in life is being in a marriage where i know my husband is committed to me. i know he's watching my back. i know i can fully trust him. but you know what's even more astounding than that? it's becoming the person that watches somebody else's back and that's fully committed to them through thick and thin. and that becomes a person they can trust and they can rely on. and you can be that kind of person, too. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> hi, i'm kelsey from college of william and mary. first i admire your ability to juggle a family and writing numerous books but how would you suggest women of our age do that. how do we allocate the time as we grow up to juggle these numerous things? what would you do? >> well, in general it gets back to the vision. what is the vision for your life? and this is not the popular thing to say these days. but if your visions includes one of children there is a certain season in a woman's life in particular where she needs to be there for her small children. and i would say, though, that your generation is the luckiest generation on the face of the earth to be able to do both because of modern technology. there's no reason why most parts of -- many parts of most jobs can be done in a home environment. now, it doesn't apply to all jobs. but almost any job you can name there are portions of it that can be done at home and that works for men and women, too. and one of my greatest callings in life is ask businesses to offer more flex time to their employees and more opportunities to telecommute. someone in this room that invents that next technology to allows families to spend more time together. it's a mission priorities. i consider it the greatest thing in my life to be able to shape somebody else's life and sometimes that means taking a backseat to opportunities. many of you will be called in the nonprofit arena. whether or not you have children. whether or not you marry. and when you call -- you're called into the nonprofit arena, you're making choices where you're giving up opportunities, too, financial incentives many times. people who serve in the armed forces do that as well. so it's understanding what your priorities are and giving to your family and knowing at the end of the day, my goodness i bet all your parents feel this way. how many had whiny moms and dads when you went off to kids. right, i see your faces. well, i'm one of those sad moms that turned around one day and before i knew it, my little boy was walking down the graduation aisle and out my door. so it's a great privilege to be a mom. but it's a great privilege to be able to contribute on both ways. thank you for your question. >> thank you. >> hi, i'm caroline from i'm from the university of virginia. and as college students we often face the hookup culture and this idea of traditional relationships are not valued anymore and how as students can we stand strong for our values without feeling left out? >> secure allies in the battle. many times i get mails from parents or from college kids saying i feel like i'm the only one. i feel like i'm the only one. now, even if you are the only one, you must always stand for what is right. but you are not the only one. that believes in those values of virtues. look for people who share your values. form friendships with them. create your own subculture. again, it comes to the commitment and the relationships. watching each other's back. ally yourself with groups and others who believe like you and you become the force for good that changes the culture that you're in instead of allowing it to have you feel separated. one of the greatest strategies of war is to make your opponent feel isolated and alone like they're the only one because there's a tendency to give up, give in and run away. you must never be the one who feels isolated. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> hi i'm katie and i'm from taylor university. my question is about your comment on how media has had a damaging affect on our culture. >> yes. >> i have a passion for using media as a positive influence on our culture so i was curious what your thoughts are on you how conservatives have been using media and what kind of improvements you see taking place in the future? >> well -- and media and marketing is something i've studied and worked at for 25 years. so i've done many lectures all day-long workshops on this. but to capsulate it for you. i would say one of the reasons conservative values aren't articulated in the mainstream media today is because if you go back historically to hollywood there was a time when hollywood actually did put forth conservative timeless values. values of patriotism, values of commitment to family. but there was a critical error in history that conservatives and people of faith made. and that was they actually abandoned hollywood because they felt it was becoming evil and what happened when they abandoned hollywood is they allowed for people who don't share those moral values to own and pretty much run everything. that's the entertainment media. the entertainment media today by the way is the shaper of our culture. there's an old saying that is give me the songs a nation sings and it matters who not writes her laws because really the way people behave in a country behave and how the culture, the songs, the entertainment media is feeding them. you all know that better than any generation. so becoming involved in the entertainment media is one that conservatives who have funding must do. secondly, conservatives love to hate the news media. i mean, we just do. we love to complain about the "new york times" and cbs and abc. but there are a few people out there who are actually doing something about it. there's another old saying that says the man that has free speech and the freedom of the press is the one who owns the press. and, you know, like it or not, the people that own some of these media conglomerates have the right to speak their minds. we need to become more active in ownership of media. it's critical. but the playing field has been leveled with technology. with everything that was mentioned earlier in speeches today, i heard blogs mentioned, i heard all kinds of technologies mentioned, you are the ones who can harness that. and it's up to you to do that. i would encourage many of you if you haven't looked into going into communications and journalism and marketing to please consider that as a career. very important to do that. but the other thing you can do and it's really unique only to your generation is because of the technology, you actually are the media. you know that with your facebook pages and your myspace pages and all the ability to create your own media, you have a rare opportunity to do that. thank you. >> my name is crystal bruner. i'm from patrick henry college. i had a quick question for you. with your experience in culture and with the family, what do you see as the most damaging element of our culture for the family? >> well, i would say if you're talking about media or just in general, i would say -- [inaudible] >> we're done then. the value of human life. thank you. [applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversation >> the u.s. senate is gaveling in to start the day with more work on a bill regulating tobacco products. lawmakers will take a break for party caucus luncheons between 12:30 and 2:15 pm eastern. a programming note we plan to bring you live coverage of president obama's remarks on the economy at 1:00 eastern. when the senate returns this afternoon, a voten

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