Steve Fritsch Cincinnatus Standard Publisher

June 15, 2008

Who Exactly Was This Bill Buckley Guy?

When William F. Buckley, Jr. passed away on February 27 I did not know exactly what to think or how to feel. As a young conservative (I was born in 1978), I missed the prime of the National Review founder’s most active days, including hosting the successful television show, Firing Line, and his many literary and journalistic achievements. Moreover, by the time I evolved into a conservative in my early twenties, my hero in the movement was—and still is—Ronald Reagan. At that time, Bill Buckley was for me just the founder of a conservative magazine, certainly an important figure in the conservative movement, but simply an editor and writer. How very wrong I turned out to be.

As it often seems, sometimes it is not until someone significant dies that you begin to realize how significant they actually were. Personally, I did not become a Johnny Cash fan until he passed away and upon the release of the movie based on his life, Walk the Line. After he died, I went from knowing that Johnny Cash was an old country singer to knowing that he was much, much more than that. Now I’m in the process of trying to collect his entire musical catalog, reading his autobiography, and just being inspired by the “man in black” in general. So it appears to be the same now with Bill Buckley.

On a side note, I suppose it makes sense that if you were not old enough, or alive, to experience a significant event or person it just doesn’t mean the same as it does to those who lived through it. I’m sure that when I have children they’ll understand that 9/11 was a terrible event—as people in my generation view Pearl Harbor or the JFK assassination—but they will never be able to understand the anger and sorrow I felt on that September day. On a lighter note, my children will also never truly understand how great Michael Jordan was playing basketball, even if they watch all of his greatest games and highlights. I was able to watch live when Michael made game winner after game winner, every time wondering before hand, “Will he do it again? Of course, he’ll do it again.” (The same can be said, of course, for Tiger Woods as well.) I mention this because as I continue reading the dozens upon dozens of obituaries on Buckley I came to learn a great deal about the man, but not having witnessed him in all of his glory makes it very hard to appreciate him the way I should.

.

But I’m going to give it my best shot. Ironically enough, Buckley’s passing comes at a time when the conservative movement he largely founded and made popular is going through some rough spells. Newsweek was quick to point this out on their cover story of Buckley with the subtitle, “How William F. Buckley Made Conservatism—and Why It’s Falling Apart.” Obviously, “falling apart” is not very accurate; just look at the success of conservative talk radio, conservative books, and the center-right Fox News. Perhaps even more telling is to look at the 2006 mid-term elections. Sure the Republicans got their butts kicked, but if you paid attention, many Democrats ran, and won, as “conservative” Democrats.

.

Regardless if you think conservatism is falling apart or not, losing Bill Buckley does not help matters. His loss, as well as Reagan’s and Charlton Heston’s, are critical when one realizes no one has really stepped up to take their place. Sure, people like Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, and Rush Limbaugh do some excellent things, and they happen to be three of my favorite conservative leaders. But as influential as these three are, they do not match the latter three. Perhaps in time they, or someone else, will fill the giant shoes of Buckley, Heston and Reagan, but in the short term all applicants still have feet too small.

.

That is why it is imperative that young conservatives like myself study Buckley and try to understand his dynamic for making conservatism both successful and lasting. Part of this is the realization that conservatism wins when it promotes what it stands for, as opposed to focusing only on what it does not stand for. The articulation of the conservative message, one based on free markets and capitalism, limited self-government, the protection and the advancement of human life and liberty, is as important as the message itself. We need leaders in the conservative movement who can properly explain to the masses that if you believe in individual freedom, keeping more of your hard earned money, and preserving the social fabric that has made America the great country it is, then it is best to vote for conservative candidates. At the same time, we also need conservative leaders that can bring together the various factions on the Right while at the same time not vilifying those who may disagree at times, even liberals. Reagan was successful at this, Heston was successful at this, and Buckley was certainly successful at this.

.

One can clearly witness this by listening to what Buckley’s liberal friends and colleagues have to say about him, despite their ideological differences. Uber-leftist Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation, said of Buckley in her “homage” to him in Newsweek: “While he could deploy a sometimes vicious wit—which could descend into cruelty—Buckley disdained the kind of partisan shoutfests that too often pass for political debate on our TVs today.” This was for the most part true, although one of the funniest stories I read about Buckley was when he told Gore Vidal on Firing Line that if he called him a “crypto-Nazi” again he’d punch him in the face. Vidal certainly would have deserved it.

.

Much has also been said of his friendship with liberals like John Kenneth Galbraith, which Christopher Hitchens says was the “counterpart of [Buckley’s] challenge to [liberals] monopoly on the word ‘intellectual.’” Yet in reading all the obituaries and columns written about Buckley, you begin to realize that for all his immense intellectual talents, it was his talent for friendship that seems most impressive. Over and over again, it is Buckley’s kindness in friendship that is brought to light.

.

The British historian Alistair Horne, who called Buckley his “oldest and dearest friend,” said that Buckley “taught him “the meaning of friendship.” Henry Kissinger, whom Buckley visited for Thanksgiving for 20 years, called his friendship with him a “blessing.” And there are countless other stories of Buckley meeting young conservative writers for the first time, and Buckley treating them like he knew them all of his life. He seemed to have had an uncanny ability to make people relax around him, to let go of the intimidation they probably felt around a man whom many of them viewed as a kind of “god.”

.

Speaking of God, Buckley was an ardent Roman Catholic, and it shaped who he was and what he did. The writer Joseph Bottum said that during the 1950s and 1960s Buckley was seen as the “nation’s leading Catholic layman,” and that this faith was what allowed him to do more; to laugh more, to live more, to give more. Edward Capano, former publisher of National Review, said that Buckley was a man of a “deep and unshakable religious faith.” Garry Wills, the Pulitzer Prize winner and best selling author, who was initially discovered by Buckley, said that, “In private he was the most egalitarian person I ever met. He treated everyone equally.”

.

Egalitarian. It means to be “affirming, promoting, or characterized by belief in equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people.” It is not a word that liberals generally associate with conservatives; indeed, most liberals believe they are the true egalitarians. But socialists are not egalitarian. Equality does not mean to forcefully take from one and give to another. That is theft. Equality means that under the laws of the nation we are all to receive an equal shot, and as individuals, not merely products of the state, we have the freedom to choose our own path as we see fit (so long as it does not trample on another’s rights). This is what modern American conservatism stands for. It is what William F. Buckley, Ronald Reagan, and Charlton Heston stood for. It does not matter if you are black, white, Hispanic, or Asian; it does not matter if you are a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or atheist; it does not matter if you come from a rich family, a middle class family, or a poor family. What modern American conservatism stands for is the belief that every individual born into this world has the freedom to choose how he or she wants to live life. If you want to become a doctor or a lawyer, or a schoolteacher or an entrepreneur, there is nothing—but yourself—that can prevent you from getting there. Liberals make all kinds of excuses for reasons why certain people remain poor or unsuccessful. Conservatives believe that the choices made by individuals keep them poor or make them successful. And if you look at the broad spectrum of successful people in this country—of all different races, creeds, and faiths—they got to the top based off this indisputable fact.

.

Whether they realize it or not, the American people owe William F. Buckley a thank you. Not for giving them the gift of freedom of choice—that gift comes from God and God only. No, what they owe Buckley a thank you for is his tireless pursuit to promote and advance the cause of human liberty and the inherent right to have the freedom to choose. And we should thank Buckley, and honor Buckley, by continuing ourselves to pick up the torch he, Reagan, and Heston carried to make sure America remains the land of the free, the home of the brave, and, of course, an egalitarian nation.