InfraBlue wrote:How can we know about Buckley's upholding of the concepts of democracy, community, civility and friendship if not by his ideas about them? Many of his ideas are diametrically opposed to the concepts of democracy (he championed military intervention and occupation), community, civility (he was an apologist for the subjugation of the Amerindians) and friendship (are the two above really that friendly?). How else did he uphold these concepts?
By the way he lived his life, day in and day out. I don't know a lot about his ideas, never read a book of his for instance, but my sense for him on TV and his columns was that he tended to be a contrarian, that he would take the unpopular and often unsavory position at times because it was more important that we have a full debate then it was that he personally be seen in a positive light. This is a bit dicey for me personally because I want people to only stick to what they really believe, but he was following the standard rules for debate and I respect that. But talk to people who knew him personally and they will tell you that whatever the product of his intellect he always treated them as an individual and always very well. His friends spanned the ideological spectrum. Human decency trumped ideology with him, democratic process trumped agenda. How rare is that today!!!
