William F. Buckley, founder of National Review, man of letters, and an outsized influence upon Postwar conservatism in America, has died:
I’m devastated to report that our dear friend, mentor, leader, and founder William F. Buckley Jr., died this morning in his study in Stamford, Connecticut.He died while at work; if he had been given a choice on how to depart this world, I suspect that would have been exactly it. At home, still devoted to the war of ideas.
As you might expect, we’ll have much more to say here and in NR in the coming days and weeks and months. For now: Thank you, Bill. God bless you, now with your dear Pat. Our deepest condolences to Christopher and the rest of the Buckley family. And our fervent prayer that we continue to do WFB’s life’s work justice.
Update: Ben Domenech notes WFB's passing, and appends a selection of choice Buckley bons mots. My favourite of the selections:
I propose, simply, to expose what I regard as an extraordinarily irresponsible educational attitude that, under the protective label 'academic freedom,' has produced one of the most extraordinary incongruities of our time: the institution that derives its moral and financial support from Christian individualists and then addresses itself to the task of persuading the sons of these supporters to be atheistic socialists.
That, because my first faculty adviser, though not an atheist, was a deconstructionist and socialist.
Comments (2)
Take heart, the great man's journey continues.
“Come. Everything is ready now. In your fears and your laughter, in your friendships and farewells, in your loves and losses, in what you have been able to do and in what you know you will never get done, come, follow me. We are going home to the waiting Father.”
Father John Neuhaus
Posted by Kevin | February 27, 2008 1:12 PM
The list would be a lot more entertaining if it included the crypto-nazi/queer/smash-you-in-your-goddamn-face exchange with Gore Vidal.
Posted by Mike | February 27, 2008 2:12 PM