Just before Thanksgiving, Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson’s speaking tour came through Nashville. My mind swelled and stayed that way for days upon days of pondering afterward. The holiday came and went, along with social-media posts about being thankful and I concluded that I am thankful for intellectuals like Tyson, and that he passed through to elevate our collective consciousness. This is an open letter of thanks to Dr. Neil.
Dear Dr. Tyson,
Thank you so very much for highlighting your ideas in Nashville. This is not the first time you’ve graced us, but as a hometown boy, it is always wonderful to see, in person, the droves of thinking people who have always existed in my city, but who rarely have as good a chance to gather in unified deep thought. That appreciation is especially vivid when brought on with your insightful and unique brand of perspective.
In this oh-so-very-theological town, your sermon of science and common sense reverberated among like minds as if the mental acoustics in the room were akin to the most perfect of Music City venues.
When you speak, I feel as though you are explaining that the Earth is indeed round, regardless of how much farther-advanced the topic at hand may be. In this oh-so-very-theological town, your sermon of science and common sense reverberated among like minds as if the mental acoustics in the room were akin to the most perfect of Music City venues. I occasionally looked around the room to see the heads nodding in unison as some sort of nerdy alternative to “praise hands.”
Photo Courtesy: Lucas Leverett
I was raised in a time when mass media had finally come into its own, with its representation of science facts. Icons among that media marked the childhood of all my Gen-X peers and I felt a vast excitement in the presence a current standard-bearer. There must always be a voice in the endless noise of empty infotainment. A beacon among the airwaves of ignorance. A clarion call, to which thousands of us hearkened for two wonderful evenings here in Nashvegas.
Sincerely, and on behalf of so many who undoubtedly agree, thank you again, Dr. Tyson, for leaving more of your profound words hanging in the air, in my home town.