Posted on 10/11/2008 3:14:03 PM PDT by Urbane_Guerilla
In either the last week of August or the first week of September, 1970, just before I arrived at college, I had the extraordinary experience of going to Sharon, Connecticut, to the home of William Buckley. With several hundred other young conservatives (I was 17), I gathered for a couple days to validate my totally-against-the-crowd perception of life, a perception inspired in large part by William Buckley, one of the giants of the 20th century.
Buckley's inspiration was not a new or different perception of life. To the contrary, his perception was an explication of life, a logical and spiritual appreciation of the mystery of life. A perception on how we all should treat each other, for our mutual benefit.
When I read Buckley and was inspired by him, inspired to open my mind, he was regarded as a freak, a demented lunatic. I remember that all too well. But he rescued the idea of America, and of Western Civilization, almost by himself.
A number of years later, I forget how many or where, his son wrote a public statement. His son, Christopher, wrote he was in the Buckley mansion when that gathering took place. Christopher said he was smoking dope (I think he said hash) and he and his buddy were laughing at us from the window in the mansion.
I was a 17 year old boy, from a single mother family, five kids, on welfare in those days (does anyone remember?) when welfare meant government peanut butter, butter, lard, flour and surprise visits to see if you had a telephone.
I remember those details as distinctly as if they happened yesterday. And I remember William Buckley just as distinctly, because the man was a true human being, a blessed soul, a man who made sense. He was a free man, not a slave to cant, to bombast, to peer pressure, to junk thinking, to bigotry or to government.
A couple years later I met him personally before a Firing Line episode. What a gracious, lovely man. I was nothing, and he treated me with an understanding and affection I will never forget. It was not special or unique. It was simply William Buckley, acting on principle, that every human being counted - - the essence of conservatism.
When I read Christopher's account of laughing at me and my comrades, while Christopher was stoned, and if I remember correctly it was not a statement of regret, I literally could not believe it was true. I was inexperienced enough to believe that fathers have something like definitive influence over sons.
Only years let me realize how little influence fathers can have.
I do not mean to be dramatic. But I remember days when the kids in my family looked for pop bottles to turn in the deposit (it was 2 cents at the time) to get money for food. It was not a big deal. We never felt like victims. It was just what needed to be done. Poverty is a state of mind.
When I went to college I literally had no conception how wealthy people were, how they took so much for granted. And when I went to college, before I met wealthy people, I was inspired by William Buckley, because what he said was so true and so human.
The bane of great wealth is spiritual poverty.
Christopher Buckley is pretty impressed with himself. A bane.
I’m out of the loop. What’s he done?
Nice story. Christopher Buckley better stock up on hash on election day, he’s gong to need it.
Does he own National Review now? Can he fire himself?
he’s supporting obama
what’s his forum?
He endorsed Obama with the heretical headlline: Sorry Dad, I’m voting for Obama. He’s a loser, maybe he can hook up with Ronald Reagan Jr. and do what comes natural to them.
I’m out of the loop. What’s he done?He endorsed Obama.
I'm really surprised at how many conservative intellectuals have thrown the Mccain/Palin ticket under the bus. Win or lose there's going to be some serious bloodletting in the republican establishment after this election.
Author on the talk show circuit...son of a famous conservative.
WFB had gone pretty hard against the Iraq war, when the times tried mens’ souls.
The Buckley clan has been rocked lately. Chris has a kid from a fling he had outside marriage. Big Bill cut the grand kid out of his will in a particularly odd way — “He’s dead to me...”
loved your writing there. very similar background but not quite as harsh. makes me think of the great Ronald Reagan and the ingrate, mentally impoverished (not retarded) natural children that he had. Such a great man, such piss poor progeny. i think they both took after their mother more than him.
oh well. genetics is not everything after all. great people arise from poor homes and great homes produce poor minds. thanks for the post.
Here’s an article about the child. The last 2 paragraphs about the will don’t make William F. look any better than Chris.
The Buckley clan has been rocked lately. Chris has a kid from a fling he had outside marriage. Big Bill cut the grand kid out of his will in a particularly odd way — “He’s dead to me...”WFB was a brilliant conservative thinker, but he was a narcissistic bassbowl. His son is no different. But Chrissy B does know Mccain better than most. He worked as a speechwriter for Juan.
Ooops! Forgot the link...
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10052008/news/nationalnews/no_love_child_of_buckley_132230.htm
one thing has always puzzled me about WFB: Why did he affect an English accent his entire life? I’m sure this was not his natural way of speaking, since I’ve never heard a native Nutmegger talk that way.
Per Rush Limbaugh: The biggest problem of rich people is their kids. Maybe that’s why he has never had kids.
If that article is accurate, then William Buckley is to be condemned. And if the entire Buckley family are wealthy jack asses, then so be it. I suppose all I can claim, is William Buckley’s good inspiration to me, regardless of how he was personally.
He died of emphysema, and is quoted as saying he hoped government would ban tobacco. That is an absurd rejection of his entire life’s thinking. It is a rejection of personal responsibility unworthy of him.
It does not change the point of my post. If anything, it corroborates it. Great wealth is spiritually debilitating.
I do not doubt Chrissy’s evaluation of McCain. Who needed to hear from Chrissy to know about that?
The Obama endorsement, though, is pure high school peer pressure wealthy elitist lack of principle.
Chrissy thinks he is groovin’.
one thing has always puzzled me about WFB: Why did he affect an English accent his entire life? I’m sure this was not his natural way of speaking, since I’ve never heard a native Nutmegger talk that way.Because WFB fancied himself to be an aristocrat.
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