Country has to 'start talking,' Carson says

SIKESTON, Mo. -- Unity was the word of the night when renowned surgeon and commentator Dr. Ben Carson spoke to a crowd of more than 1,500 Saturday evening in Sikeston.

The Sikeston High School choir and Sikeston native and the 2008 winner of "America's Got Talent" Neal Boyd began the evening by singing a selection of patriotic songs. Boyd said it was "a great day for Sikeston."

Carson was introduced by guest speaker Beverly Brown Randles, a Kansas City attorney and Scott County Central graduate. She said the event was not just about Carson but what he stood for.

From education to health care to the importance of communication, Carson shared with the crowd what he called "common sense" views he believed could unite and improve the country.

He began his speech with a brief disclaimer: "I am not politically correct." Stepping around issues and a fear of offending others has inhibited conversation, he said, and change cannot come without improved communication.

"We have to start talking," Carson said. "Everyone has to start talking."

Education also is fundamental to change, he said. Many people today -- adults and students -- have "superficial knowledge," which Carson said leaves them prime targets for manipulation by others. He challenged each audience member to combat this by taking just 30 minutes a day to read and learn about something new.

"When you become knowledgeable, you become a formidable ally of truth and a formidable enemy of falsehood, and that's what we need in this nation," he said.

Although he's celebrated today for his work in neuroscience, Carson said he wasn't the best student in his younger years. It changed after his mother, who only had a third-grade education, made him turn off the television and read books from the public library. She forced him to read at first, but Carson said he soon came to enjoy it, and he rose from the bottom of his class to the top.

His success story is what brought many people to the Sikeston Field House on Saturday afternoon. Dave Warren and Barry Chessor of Sikeston said they were excited about the positive message.

Dr. Ben Carson signs his book "America the Beautiful" for Dave Warren of Sikeston, Mo., after the program in Sikeston on Saturday night. (Bob Greenlee - Standard Democrat)

"It's good to hear a message from a true American success story," he said.

John McMillen, one of the event organizers, called the speech "fantastic."

"It's exactly what I anticipated," he said. "I've heard his speeches on YouTube and on the Internet, but hearing it in person is nothing like the sound bites. It's just ... it feels like I've been at a revival."

Perhaps the people most excited to be at the event were Carla and Thomas Petty. The mother and son from Fredericktown, Mo., were there to meet Carson for the second time in their lives.

The first was 20 years ago when Thomas, or "T.J." as he's known to his family, was less than a year old. He had suffered a stroke because of a baseball-size tumor on his brain.

Local physicians told Carla Petty it was inoperable and her son likely would not make it past his first birthday.

Rather than give up, she called surgeons across the country until she found Carson in Maryland. He agreed to perform the surgery to remove the tumor, and two decades later, Carla Petty said she's still in shock.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience to get to see him again 20 years later," she said. "Just talking to him again is amazing. He's so down-to-earth and is still the exact same person, 20 years later."

At the end of the event, three other young people were walking away with smiles on their faces. Students Mary Maddox and Mikala Nichols of Sikeston and Ty-Anna Waters of Jackson each were awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the new Bootheel Scholarship Committee, formed in conjunction with the event.

Money raised from ticket sales funded the scholarships.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

200 Pine St., Sikeston, Mo.