Sometime in the 70's I checked
out of the PG County liberry William F. Buckley Jr.'s "Execution Eve
and Other Contemporary Ballads." I had no idea who Buckley was,
nor had "conservative politics" crossed my mind. I suppose I
was enticed by the jacket cover blurb, - "a collection of
dispatches?" Whatever, I was at once enthralled by Buckley, and
sought out everything he had ever written. My love for history
was immediately co opted by politics. His PBS show, Firing Line,
was a weekly staple, and I remember being so filled up with excitement
of new notions and discoveries that I could barely contain
myself. I, rather pompously - as though only I was adroit enough to notice, delighted in subtle rejoinders
that were so sharp that recipients didn't notice blood until they were
in the parking lot. I've feared that he would die one day, and so
he has. And no, I do not agree entirely with every thing he said,
but when I don't, there's a feeling of "how dare I?" What a treasure. Here are quotes I've collected.
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- "I would like to take you seriously, but to do so would affront your intelligence."
- "The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry."
- "We are so concerned to flatter the majority
that we lose sight of how very often it is necessary, in order to
preserve freedom for the minority, let alone for the individual, to
face that majority down."
- "I profoundly believe it takes a lot of practice to become a moral slob."
- "Idealism is fine, but as it approaches reality, the costs become prohibitive."
- "I'd rather entrust the government of the United
States to the first 400 people listed in the Boston telephone directory
than to the faculty of Harvard University. "
- "A Conservative is a fellow who is standing athwart history yelling 'Stop!' "
- "Back in the thirties we were told we must
collectivize the nation because the people were so poor. Now we are
told we must collectivize the nation because the people are so rich. "
- "It had all the earmarks of a CIA operation; the bomb killed everybody in the room except the intended target! "
- "Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other
views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are
other views."
- "Liberals, it has been said, are generous with other
peoples' money, except when it comes to questions of national survival
when they prefer to be generous with other people's freedom and
security. "
- "Life can't be all bad when for ten dollars you can buy all the Beethoven sonatas and listen to them for ten years. "
- "One must bear in mind that the expansion of federal activity is a form of eating for politicians. "
- "Scientists are people who build the Brooklyn Bridge and then buy it. "
- "Some of my instincts are reprehensible. "
- "The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry."
- "The majority of the senior class of Vassar does not
desire my company and I must confess, having read specimens of their
thought and sentiments, that I do not desire the company of the
majority of the senior class of Vassar. "
- "There is an inverse relationship between reliance on the state and self-reliance. "
- "Truth is a demure lady, much too ladylike to knock
you on your head and drag you to her cave. She is there, but people
must want her, and seek her out. "
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