Talk show host Jerry Springer shared his stance on political issues at a talk sponsored by the University of Wisconsin Hillel at the Orpheum Thursday night.
Although addressing political issues might seem out of character for the host of a show with episodes such as I Married My Horse,"" Springer spoke from his experience serving as the mayor of Cincinnati, a TV news anchor and city councilman.
Springer explained that the reasons he defends his ""outrageous"" show come from his strong beliefs in tolerance and freedom to pursue the American dream. Springer speaks at campuses across the country because he believes this dream may be out of reach for some Americans.
He warned students their generation is the first to face the likelihood that they will not make a better life for themselves than their parents. The most glaring issue to Springer is an inefficient health-care system. He urged students to demand politicians provide universal health care instead of spending billions of dollars on national defense.
""You can't protect America if you don't protect Americans. You can't protect your family if you can't provide health insurance,"" Springer said.
Although young people may think they don't need health insurance, Springer said this is foolish because the future is unpredictable.
""No matter how healthy you think you are, you never know who's going to ram into you when you're in your car. You never know when your next doctor appointment will bring you bad news. You just don't know.""
Springer's convictions about freedom of access to health care extend to his beliefs on freedom of speech, motivating him to defend the right of people to share their stories on his show.
He said these people have problems many other people have, giving the example of a popular TV interview with Princess Diana where she confessed to infidelity and an eating disorder. Springer said critics may call his show offensive, but its only difference from Princess Di's interview is his guests are uneducated and low-income. This is a sector of society privileged Americans are uncomfortable seeing.
""Not one person in the world will complain about Princess Di being on television talking about that because she's beautiful, she spoke the Queen's English, she's wealthy, she's famous.""
UW-Madison freshman Emily Gordon went to see Springer to hear stories from his show, but came away surprised at his political message.
""I thought his personal history was interesting but I wasn't expecting to hear his politics. That was disappointing and frustrating,"" Gordon said.
