CAL THOMAS IS AMERICA'S "WATCHMAN" IN THE NIGHT
In A WATCHMAN IN THE NIGHT, Cal Thomas-one of the most popular syndicated columnists in the country-takes the reader on a "road trip" through over fifty years of journalism and American life, serving as a "watchman" on culture and politics and seeking to conform it to a standard that never changes. A watchman "keeps guard over a building at night, to protect it from fire, vandals, or thieves." Thomas is a believer that certain values and principles never change and has critiqued misbehavior and wrong-headedness by people on "his side" from the start. "If values and Truth mean anything," Thomas says, "they must be applied equally. Hypocrisy and heresy cannot be ignored no matter the source." In the book, Thomas does not stigmatize with labels, such as "conservative" and "religious," because Thomas says: "It allows people to define me and others by their perception of those labels. Ask me a question and I will give you my answer."
For over fifty years in journalism, Thomas has offered incisive, humorous and often corrective commentary to our social, political, and religious conversations. An early commitment to addressing publicly what he sees has marked Thomas' entire career. Cal has always called both parties, both sides of the American political divide, to account, to take the high road and to honor our civic and religious ideals with compatible behavior to the very best of our ability. This increasingly "radical" approach to public life has won for him many friends on both sides of the political aisle, hundreds of thousands of faithful readers of his columns, and a continuous barrage of accolades and "hate mail", much of it charming in its own right when it is not too foul to repeat.
Cal came to the Christian faith while a young journalist at a dinner led by Dr. Richard Halverson, Pastor at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, MD, and later, Chaplain of the United States Senate. This experience informed the rest of Cal's life as he hosted his own private dinners for members of the press and members of Congress from both parties leading to deep friendships with Senator Ted Kennedy and many others, friendships which became a hallmark of Cal's life despite wide political differences. For over two decades, Cal has hosted the National Prayer Breakfast Media Dinner as a continuation of his commitment to the reality that a relationship with Jesus Christ can change a person's life and ultimately change a nation, and that things of such import are best discussed over dinner. The book include tones about faith, but focuses on American social, cultural and political currents.
A WATCHMAN IN THE NIGHT: A JOURNALIST REFLECTS ON FIFTY YEARS OF REPORTING ON AMERICA is a living history of our times, of who we were then and who we are now and who we might become (for better or worse) in the future, and a remarkable chronicle of modern American life.
