Studs Terkel once told a story of being stuck on a train. He was fed up with the automatic voice of the announcer, and began scanning the train for human interaction. Finally, his eyes fell upon a baby. He asked the child its opinion of humanity, and it giggled at him. "Finally," Terkel exclaimed, "a human voice."
This is exactly what Terkel has provided over the many decades of his career: a human voice. Or rather, a legion of voices, from politicians to preachers, farmers to field medics, musicians to media moguls, and everyone in between. His books -which cover topics like war, poverty, race, and faith- are a national mirror which every citizen should be forced to look into. His "oral histories" remind us that we are all in this together, regardless of our petty differences.
It is with a heavy heart that I report that this faithful reporter of America's true self has passed on. It is now up to us to carry on his legacy. To anyone reading this, I recommend not mourning Terkel’s death, but rather taking the opportunity to obtain a copy of one of his works. I recommend Hope Dies Last. Come to think of it, the title is itself a fitting tribute to the man.
