On or off, FReepmail me.
Cheers,
knewshound
http://www.knewshound.blogspot.com/
Posted on 03/18/2009 2:52:48 PM PDT by Syncro
SILVER'S BRAVERY NOT AN ACT
March 18, 2009
I wish I could ask Ron Silver what he thinks of the AIG bonuses. He'd have some original take -- maybe propose re-opening the bonuses paid to Franklin Raines and Jamie Gorelick for their yeoman's work running Fannie Mae into the ground and then collecting bonuses of $90 million and $24.7 million, respectively. Or maybe he'd just make a joke.
But I can't ask him anymore because Ron died of a rare esophageal cancer last Sunday.
So now there is one less person in the world who never chooses his positions to feed a pompous ego or to stroke his self-image as a thinking person. There was no point to posturing for Ron: His social standing in Hollywood was revoked the moment he supported Bush and the Iraq War.
Perhaps Ron always spoke his mind, but I didn't know him when he was "brave"; I only knew Ron when he was actually brave.
I've noticed that words like "brave" and "courageous" are mostly used nowadays to mean "left-wing.." We're constantly asked to admire the monumental courage of Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Janeane Garofalo and the Dixie Chicks -- sometimes even by other people.
But for my younger readers, what courage traditionally meant was risking the disapprobation of people you know. It was about losing friends, losing work and losing status where you live -- not alienating people you will never meet. Insulting people in Kansas when you live in Los Angeles is not speaking truth to power; it's speaking anything to serve power.
One thing you cannot say about Ron's magnificent speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention is that he did it to go with the flow in Hollywood, to take the path of least resistance, to win easy applause. Ron did lose work, lose friends and lose his entire social apparatus.
Ron didn't say what he said to get any kind of reaction, but because he believed it. He was an intellectual trapped in an actor's body.
Amid the antiques at his beautifully appointed Park Avenue pre-war, there were piles and piles of magazines and newspaper articles on topics ranging from Sunni Muslims to Darwinism. Nearly every room was lined with books, most of them dog-eared.
When I needed to stay with Ron for a few weeks once, he'd get up hours before I did, read all the major newspapers and leave the interesting articles circled at the foot of my bed.
This might be the nicest thing a man could ever do for me. Hey, skip the bagel and fresh coffee -- bring me that op-ed page and a pair of scissors! It was like a fabulous Park Avenue hotel with a clipping service.
During his long-shot chemo treatments at "the spa," as he called Memorial Sloan-Kettering, Ron turned his chemo rooms into Command Central. Most people doze off during chemo; Ron would be sitting upright, watching the news, checking his laptop and making cell phone calls, seemingly oblivious to the poison being injected into his arm.
He'd often come to church with me on Sundays -- while insisting he favored the "Original Testament," as if the New Testament were an act of judicial activism. He just liked to hear an intellectual lecture on the Bible -- and always perked up when the minister began discussing the "Original Testament."
Read more at AnnCoulter.Com
Beautiful words Ann - RIP Mr. Silver
The piece about her father was beautiful. As is this one.
Rest in peace, Ron Silver.
“They don’t believe it’s the Body and Blood of Our Lord, so it isn’t sacrilege.”
What “they” believe or don’t believe doesn’t enter into it. The host is considered the body of Christ by the congregation and Silver should have shown respect for their belief in their house.
My condolences to Ann for the loss of her friend.
Beautiful story, nice tribute to Ron Silver.
You can now watch this POWERFUL video tribute to Ron Silver on the CONSERVATIVE alternative to YouTube, PopModal.com:Ron Silver in Memoriam - RIP
.
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Produced/Directed/Edited by Jeffers M. Dodge
for the David Horowitz Freedom CenterRuntime: 3m 53s
In my heart I agree with that sentiment.
In my head, I know that this is how come we will always lose.
We need to understand that this is a Culture War.
I am tired of playing ball by their rules, while when it comes to them having the ball, there are no rules.
Wow, what a beautiful column by Miss Coulter. In some ways similar to her column for Barbara Olson (I still miss her). Sounds lie Ron was a good man of strong faith in God.
Heartbreaking.
What a wonderful eulogy for a respected man, from a friend.
Thank you Ann, Ron deserved those kind words.
Tet.
Just the mere fact that Ann Coulter wrote something nice about him will be the ultimate kiss of doom for his memory.
It’s not too hard to see why they loved each other.
I doesn't sound like her Church is one that believes in the Real Presence.
RIP Brother Silver. You lived an honest life.
No it won’t.
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