“As My Own Death Approaches, I Weigh the Life I Have Lived,” David Horowitz

FrontPage Magazine ^ | April 30 2025 | Daniel Greenfield

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"It is the certainty of death that finally makes a life acceptable"

“As my own death approaches, I weigh the life I have lived against what it might have been. I ask myself: Could I have been wiser? Could I have done more? When I look at my life this way from the end, I can take satisfaction that I mostly gave it my all and did what I could… It is the certainty of death that finally makes a life acceptable. When we live as fully as we can, what room is left for regret?”

David Horowitz, Mortality & Faith: Reflections on a Journey through Time

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In an article that will appear later this week, I wrote that “David Horowitz first came down with cancer after 9/11. He wrote about that in ‘The End of Time’. He continued fighting cancer and writing about his experiences facing death in ‘A Point in Time: The Search for Redemption in This Life and the Next‘. He nearly died in 2015 and wrote about that in ‘You’re Going to Be Dead One Day: A Love Story’ and then collected all three together in ‘Mortality and Faith’ in 2019.”

This excerpt from that collection has David contemplate the question of his own mortality. And though he lived long after that contemplation, it is central to who he was as a writer, as a thinker and as a man.

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Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, is a New York writer focusing on radical Islam and leftism.

A short excerpt from Mr Greenfield about David Horowitz, who passed in the last couple of days.

Ping out to the Daniel Greenfield Ping! list.

As always, please FReepmail me if you want on or off the esteemed Daniel Greenfield ping list.

Daniel Greenfield's website: The Sultan Knish blog

[MtnClimber]

RIP David Horowitz.

[38special]

“When I think about the past, it brings back lots of memories.” ~ Steven Wright

[wardaddy]

Probably the first yuppie to make the switch
RIP

[eyeamok]

He was a real nice guy, met him at his house in Camarillo a few times before he moved out of California. During the 2016 Primary he looked at me and asked me what I thought about the upcoming primaries, I told him straight up that Trump was Going to WIN and it was his game to lose. He appeared to be shocked but soon realized I was absolutely right.

[Tench_Coxe]

RIP

I rememberin FR early days where he came to FR to discuss politics.

[rlmorel]

I am a huge admirer of David Horowitz.

I have always felt that a big part of being at peace with yourself is to recognize that you have often made mistakes, bad ones, stupid ones, inconsiderate ones, even heinous and immoral ones.

And with recognizing that, you couple that with the ongoing effort to forgive yourself for being a bad, mean, or stupid person, try your best to learn from those mistakes, and endeavor not to repeat them when you can, and make amends as you go for those you have made.

You do your best.

I think if you can’t do that, if you hold onto regrets like cans tied to the bumper of a car driving on the highway of life, you will be fighting yourself throughout your entire life.

And it is hard enough fighting the world.

[PIF]

I first became aware of David when he was the publisher of Ramparts magazine. And have followed him ever since.

David Joel Horowitz (January 10, 1939 - April 29, 2025). Rest in Peace knowing your life was invaluable and influenced many, while enlightening many many more.

[laplata]

RIP good man and thank you.

[Miami Rebel]

I enjoyed his books. An original thinker.

RIP

[sphinx]

Ditto that. Recognizing that we have been wrong, and being courageous enough to acknowledge error publicly and change course, is profoundly liberating.

All schools should teach the Serenity Prayer. I suppose public schools would gag over the first word, which is a good reason for writing them off and simply vouchering public education.

[PGalt]

Condolences to family and friends of David Horowitz. R.I.P., sir.

[Spok]

I have often joked that my epitaph should be “I could’ve done better “. Then my wife says “couldn’t we all?”

[Big Red Badger]

RIP David

[silent majority rising]

Time is short here on earth. For all of us. Anyone who does not realize that they are fooling themselves. As one who has had end-stage cancer for more than a decade, I realized that we are all end-stage, , from the moment we are born, and therefore, I should use the time I have left in the best manner possible. And what is that manner? To truly help the ones you leave behind, even if you don’t know them. Try kindness over revenge. It lasts longer. Flannery O’Conner once said (in relation to her end stage disease), “The wolf is in the house, I’m afraid, rummaging around”. My wolf has been eating me for a long time, but I have managed to punch him in the nose on a few occasions.

[Bon of Babble]

David Horowitz is one of my favorite writers and journalists - Daniel Greenfield as well. Radical Son is, IMO, the best of his books as he writes about his journey from a hard-core Berkeley Communist to staunch Conservative.

David battled cancer for many years and I’m glad he was able to enjoy many years of life after his initial diagnosis. His voice will be missed.

[marktwain]

Great post.

Amen to your thought.

I agree entirely.

Forgiving yourself can be difficult. I can do so only because God is willing to forgive me.

[rod5591]

“As my own death approaches, I weigh the life I have lived against what it might have been. I ask myself: Could I have been wiser? Could I have done more? When I look at my life this way from the end, I can take satisfaction that I mostly gave it my all and did what I could… It is the certainty of death that finally makes a life acceptable. When we live as fully as we can, what room is left for regret?”

This evaluation of himself lacks any humility, to be honest. But, RIP David Horowitz.