William F. Buckley, Jr.
Back in the 1960s, you could fly very cheaply under a program called Youth Fare if you were under 21 and were willing to fly standby. Of course, flying Youth Fare meant the airline would seat you wherever they had room.
That’s how I happened to fly from New York to Colorado sitting next to conservative writer, founder of the right-wing magazine “The National Review,” and talk show host William F. Buckley, Jr., looking just as stuffy and formally dressed as he did on his TV show, “Firing Line.”
At the time, I was 17 years old and a staunch activist opponent of the Vietnam War – and I looked the part: long hair, worn-out blue jeans, and probably several “Out Now!” and “End the War” buttons.
As a matter of principle, I didn’t like William F. Buckley. And based on his politics, you would think that Buckley would not have liked me either. But then you didn’t know William F. Buckley.
Very early in the flight, Buckley started asking me questions: Why was I going to Colorado? What was I studying? What was I reading? What music did I like?
He was charming. He was warm. He seemed genuinely interested in me and in the answers I gave to his questions.
We talked about the war. We argued about the war. We talked about music. He encouraged me to listen to jazz and Bach.
When we landed he said goodbye, thanked me for the conversation and wished me well. I was never able to dislike William F. Buckley again.
This post was submitted by Michael.
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You’re not supposed to dislike him; you’re supposed to dislike his thoroughly untenable positions and what he stands for.
Why that rarely happens, at least in the US, is explained here by Gore Vidal: “Does anyone care what Americans think? They’re the worst-educated people in the First World. They don’t have any thoughts, they have emotional responses, which good advertisers know how to provoke.”