The Incomparable Mr. Buckley

[Belle]

This program has only recently been made about the life of William F. Buckley Jnr. Even his moniker sounded pompous, but there was obviously far more to the man than the eponymous ring-tone.

Christopher Hitchens once opined that Buckley was essentially "shy"; either that or he kept running from one engagement to another so that he wouldn't have to face himself and his demons. Hitchens declared this to be the case after an episode of "Firing Line" because Hitch asked Buckley to join him for drinks and was rebuffed. I had an open mind about Hitchens' comment because I usually found him prescient. Not so; this documentary actually showed that Buckley had 'a gift for friendship', having many of them. He just didn't like Hitchens!! (The things we tell ourselves...!!)

Buckley reminded me of a conservatism I grew up with in the 1950s and 60s; an America I no longer recognize, and free, fierce and relatively civilized debate. All of which has long-since disappeared. There were controversies, of course. But Buckley had panache and wit, and I can't think of a single example of this today. He had an excellent wife and they were ideally suited sparring partners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V8Yg4aPOZc

[Rach3]

Not to mention Hitchens would have drunk Buckley under the table.Perhaps Buckley knew.

I saw Buckley live give a talk in 1971 at Ripon College in our Wisconsin, and have his book, "The Jewelers Eye". He had numerous debates with famous lefty professor Noam Chomsky, on YT.Chomsky usually got the better I thought in retrospect.

[Belle]

Not to mention Hitchens would have drunk Buckley under the table.Perhaps Buckley knew.

I saw Buckley live give a talk in 1971 at Ripon College in our Wisconsin, and have his book, "The Jewelers Eye". He had numerous debates with famous lefty professor Noam Chomsky, on YT.Chomsky usually got the better I thought in retrospect.

Yes, I'd have to agree with you on both counts. As a student of history and culture I've watched quite a few 'Firing Line' episodes and I've seen two with the aforementioned Chomsky. He's still going strong, at a ripe old age. Chomsky got the better of Buckley at times because the latter lost his cool, which is always a big mistake. (Christopher Hitchens never lost his cool!) Dr. Chomsky is a formidable intellect and this was demonstrated in his discussions but it's also true that the smartest academic can also hold the silliest ideologies, which often belie their supposed intelligence. Having said all that, Chomsky was largely correct on the failed Vietnam foray but he used that failure to apply a somewhat belligerent world view towards American foreign policy thereafter. So easy to say from the comfort of academic tenure.

Having studied some of Chomsky's linguistic theories in the late 70s (transformational generative grammar and 'trees'!) I had respect for him then, but I've always found his politics beyond reprehensible. There was a passive aggression there - and still is - every time he opened his mouth. I also found Gore Vidal an infamous and vicious individual completely devoid of a sense of humour. Having read two of his autobiographical books (as somebody one said, 'the curse of the autobiographer is poor memory!'), I saw that nastiness and chip-on-the-shoulder sarcasm in abundance. "Palimpsest" was the last one I read and I gave it to the charity shop when finished. The only thing which moved me was when he described the death of his long-term partner Howard.

[jserraglio]

Noam Chomsky, one of the towering minds of the past century, is just as impressive in politics as he was in linguistics. His critical view of Israel, for instance, was prescient, given recent events.

The hard Right doesn’t cotton to him because he has cleaned their clock so many times that they’ve lost count.

W.F. Buckley, too, was utterly engaging and drop-dead brilliant. I delighted in reading his National Review every week, as well as God and Man at Yale and McCarthy and his Enemies. But like many on the Right back then and now, Buckley had an authoritarian streak that caused him to lash out when being vigorously contradicted. Chomsky coolly discombobulated WFB on Buckley’s own Firing Line, the only guest ever to do so, and I watched that show religiously for many years during my misspent youth.