On Friday evening, March 16, 2007, Jerry Springer and his wife Nicky came to Sarasota to address the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism on the subject of liberalism. Due to a glitch in scheduling, a brief slide show on humanitarian concerns about Darfur was to be shown to the audience of some three hundred persons. When we greeted Jerry and his wife Nicky, we explained this. He said, "No problem. I'm concerned about Darfur too and I have something to add." Rachel offered the envelope containing the honorarium we give to our speakers. Jerry declined politely and later asked that it be given to the Committee for Darfur that preceeded him on the program.

The reason we were able to attract Springer to our group was that one of our board members had been his fraternity brother at college and they became friends. The decision to invite him ws hotly debated on the board, some feeling that his notorious television show disualified Springer as a person with adequate humanist values. Rachel and I disagreed and explained that they did not understand that the real Jerry Springer was quite different than the personality he plays on his show. We knew this at first hand, having talked to him at a political meeting were he spoke a few years back. His friend, Malcolm also explained that Jerry's parents had fled the Holocaust just a few days before Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. They made it to London. Jerry was born there two years later. Thus the Springer family had much in common with of many of our group. They came to U.S. when Jerry was five and settled in New YOrk. After college at Tulane University, Jerry lived in Cincinnati where he became city councilman and later served as a very capabel Mayor of that city. The final board vote was five to four in FAVOR of having Jerry speak to us. The controversy lingers on, but most now agree that it was the right decision.

Jerry gave a talk that was interrupted by four standing ovations. He melded his talk skillfully into the previous presentation. In easy conversational style with no notes, he described a humanitarian venture he and a friend had undertaken in the mid eighties. They went to Addis Ababa and equipped with two truck loads of food and medicine they drove twelve hours to the remote village. As there were no roads, they navigated the desert by means of a compass. The village was so isolated that the natives did not even know they were a part of Africa and had no understanding at all of what or where the United States was. They had no electricty or running water, nor even mirrors were known to them. The children were amazed to discover how they looked. When Polaroid pictures were shown to them with playmates they knew they were astonished. After the talk I mentioned to Jerry that my niece and nephew, would be transferred to Addis Ababa from China this summer. I will be happy to tell Darragh and Dante that Jerry Springer was there before them.
Jerry's main message was that the liberal frame of values was winning it's way into acceptance by the American population. He gave examples of social programs that had been established in the middle of the last cenury, the advances in civil rights for minorities, reminding us that les than a century ago, women had not been able to vote in this country. He noted victories associated with Martin Luther King and other Civil Rights advances. He acknowledged that these struggles were not over of course, but progress could not be denied and that sustained effort is necessary to move and keep civil rights and peace making to the front of the American agenda. He spoke in a very relaxed and easy style with no notes at all. His remarks evoked standing ovatons four times durng the thirty minute talk.

During the question period, a woman arose to question how he could square his infamous TV program with his obvious deep concern for human suffering and his kindness toward endangered people in the world. Jerry respondedd with a little laugh and said. "Look it's a terribe progran and probably shouldn't be on TV. I wouldn't watch it.But there is a large population that does like it...I like that because, I wouldn't be able to do a lot of the things I do. It makes a lot of money. (I would note here that a Google search yielded the information that his net worth is around six hundred MILLION dollars) I have not researched his list of chariies but I would expect they are extensive and diverse.

One of our arguments in having Jerry speak to us was that he is a warm and caring individual with a quick mind and a great sense of humor...that his crazy show is the way he makes a living and does not reflect the real quality of the man. His talk confirmed this for me and for those in the audience who had been against inviting him. In chatting with him I mentioned Henry Raines, Alan Cross and Jim Del Gado, describing their steadfast support of him during the Dancing with the Stars Competition. He and Nicky laughed and said to tell them "Thank you." Some of you may remember that during his run on that program, his daughter married and was honored by Jerry on the show at that time. Rachel mentioned how moving this segment had been and asked Nicky. "How is Katie doing?" Nicky said she was quite happy with a much expanded family since her husband has several brothers and they enjoy getting together.
This concludes my report. Rachel informs me that Jerry's wife is Micky, not Nicky. My hearing aid batteries were running low.

posted by wade sears @ 6:50 AM