Tony Snow's faith

Tony Snow was an American journalist, news anchor, columnist, radio host, musician and White House Press Secretary under President George W.Bush. There have been about 30 Press Secretaries in 4 decades and none came close to handling the difficult job so smoothly as Snow. His dad was a social studies teacher and after college Tony taught physics for a year, but soon began his career in journalism. He was an avid musician who played in a rock band with musicians who later played with Jethro Tull and the Doobie Brothers.  He began work for a newspaper in Greensboro, then went to Norfolk, Newport News and The Washington Times.  In 1991 he quit the Times to become a speechwriter for Pres. George H.W. Bush, an unusual move since he was a Democrat.  In the 90s Snow appeared on radio and television programs worldwide including The McLaughlin Group, The MacNeil–Lehrer NewsHour, Face the Nation, Crossfire, and Good Morning America. He was host of the PBS news specials The New Militant Center. He substituted for Rush Limbaugh and became the first host of FOX News Sunday. (He also worked for CNN)  In 2005 he was diagnosed with colon cancer and fought losing 4-year battle, yet in 2006-7 he was Bush 43’s Press Secretary.

            “Painful experiences can lead to big questions and critical insights in the state of one’s soul,” he told the usually hardened press corps at an awards gathering. “The key is to look in the mirror, stop making excuses and move forward with open eyes.” At his commencement address at Catholic University in 2007, he added, “You begin to confront the truly overwhelming question: Why am I here? And one more thing.  It’s hard to ask ultimate, eternal life-and-death questions without thinking about God.  You see, it’s trendy to reject religious reflection as a grave offense against decency.  But faith and reason are knitted together in the human soul.  Don’t leave home without either one.”  Clearly, Snow had decided long ago not to be crushed by the question of death.  His one-liners as Press Sec. were always sharp and he handled the kind of tough questions that haunt a Pres. with declining approval polls.  Contentiousness seemed to fly out the window at his conferences.  Bill Kristol summed it well in the NY Times, “His deep Christian faith combined with his natural exuberance gave him an upbeat worldview. The Jew in me came to wonder: Could it be that a stance of faith-grounded optimism is in fact superior to one of worldly pessimism or sophisticated fatalism.?” 

            In his Catholic U. speech, Snow urged the grads to take risks and to always strive to serve others.  “Religious faith is not an opiate that helps people avoid hard questions.  Instead, the ups and downs that accompany the life of faith should be seen as part of the ultimate extreme sport.” About his cancer battle he concluded, “Our maladies define a central feature of our existence.  We are fallen.  We are imperfect.  Our bodies give out.  But despite this—because of it—God offers the possibility of salvation and grace.  We don’t know how it will end, but we get to choose how to use the interval between now and the moment we meet Him face to face.”

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