Many people often seek advice for troubles including debt and “fitting in” and a select group from Pierce were able to receive that advice, at no cost.
Hosted by the Associated Student Organization and the Political Science Department, Dennis Prager spoke at the “An Evening With Dennis Prager” event in the Great Hall on April 17 to share the importance of the American values with the students, professors and faculty of Pierce College.
Prager is a nationally syndicated radio show host, columnist, author and public speaker.
“My main focus was to teach what the American system values are,” Prager said. “As I showed the video that concerned debt, I said ‘my generation and the one before mine irresponsibly created what you’re going to have to pay.’ And you need to know that.”
Prager discussed topics the students at Pierce College could relate to. Alongside parents and professors, students were able to discover the reality of being in debt and what lies ahead of them after college.
“It’s really incredible,” said Educator Outreach Coordinator of Prager University Danielle Goldblatt. “Students asked for this event and we were able to put it on. Dennis is really excited to share American values with the younger generation; American values that aren’t necessarily being taught in the classroom.”
Students being in debt was not the only thing that caught the audience attention. Prager briefly spoke about the importance of the American Trinity; Liberty, In God We Trust, and E Pluribus Unum, which means one for many.
“Liberty, In God We Trust and E Pluribus Unum are all things in the nation the founders believed in. E Pluribus Unum is especially important to me because it means “from many, one.” Our nation is made up with so many ethnicities, cultures and religions, but we still form one nation,” Goldblatt said.
Over the past years, Prager developed a sense of humor and knew it was an easier way to get through to people.
“It is the only way I could deal with all the problems in the world that I report on three hours a day, every single day of the week. If I can’t make myself laugh and others laugh I will probably end up in an asylum,” Prager said.
Prager writes syndicated columns, speaks on radio shows and writes books on how to inform the younger generation about the American values among other topics. Students are important to him and he wants to see them succeed, he said.
“I thought it was very interesting,” said first year interpreter major Rosa Robertson. “I heard that he was a great speaker and I thought this would be a great time to come and check him out. It was a lot of information packed but he made it fun to listen to.”
Not only did the students enjoy the lecture, but many found that they learned something new as well.
“The values were very enlightening,” said first year interpreter major Emily Crane. “They were very nice to hear. You also don’t really get to hear about the national debt. So it was very nice.”
Prager has lectured on all seven continents, in 45 U.S states and in nine of Canada’s 10 provinces.
“Everybody who is in adulthood wants to hear what they mostly cherish,” Prager said. “If you don’t carry on the values we cherish, we are deeply saddened and feel that we have failed. So this is a very important thing to know.”
