George Will and I frequently agree, and he is a pretty good writer, too. Similarly with William F. Buckley, although as he gets older he gets a little too tangled in his prose. I like Nat Hentoff, although, of course, we more often disagree. Robert Samuelson, John Leo, Thomas Sowell, heck, there are a bunch of people, really, that I agree with pretty often and think are more thoughtful. Of people with a Democratic inclination, I often like Chris Matthews and Michael Kelly, for example, and Meg Greenfield, may she rest in peace. Of course, in a general way I tend to associate myself with people like Norman Podhoretz and Irving Kristol, but not in lock step. I respect these people, but I cannot say that I admire them, which is the reason for my qualified response on Will.
Similarly with writing. Although some of these people are more congenial to me as writers, I have respect without admiration. Of contemporary essayists, I admire Tom Wolfe and perhaps a handful of others. Calvin Trillin has written wonderfully on food. Fran Leibowitz, although limited, has written hilarious pieces. More broadly, among contemporary writers I admire Saul Bellow, Kurt Vonnegut, Simon Schama (the historian), E.L. Doctorow, and some others.
Of past generations, I admire many writers. GK Chesterton and George Bernard Shaw, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, TS Eliot and Wallace Stevens, John Henry Cardinal Newman, Herman Melville, Stendahl, Baudelaire, Dickens, Thackeray, Dr. Johnson, Austen, Fielding. I am a big fan of Plato and Aristotle. I also admire Kant and Nietzsche. Kierkegaard is "da bomb". So many books, so hard to narrow it down.
Bread and butter writing: first, I am not particularly successful. I have been raising my son and working on projects that get compliments but no backing. I get filthy lucre from writing brochures, newsletters, occasional magazine pieces, and sometimes letters and speeches. I have published without much profit, in small venues, some poetry, philosophical essays, fiction, and cultural and political commentary. It is eclectic. I have written on Ronald Reagan, the situation in the former Soviet Union, existentialism, Hegel, fund- raising, the technological revolution, and other things.
My son, although now an honor student in high school, began school ahead in reading but behind in talking, and was placed in special education for a few years. I devoted myself to making sure that he got out of special education (which I accomplished by the end of 6th grade) and that he learned enough that he would not be woefully behind. Thus, I took myself out of the mainstream, and my career has suffered accordingly.
I will consider naming names, by PM, but will right now confine myself to the general observation that all of you appear to have stereotypes of Republicans and or conservatives that are grossly inacurrate and pretty insulting, and that you provoke a good deal of the abuse that you receive. By this time, some of the conservatives on the board have developed knee jerk reponses that may sometimes be unjust, but were learned as a result of the kinds of skirmishes that this and other political threads have commonly had. I just happen to be more patient than most.
Whether or not you respond with milder insults, someone like davidkarasick does not, and people who are riled up may take it out on you as a putative ally.
It seems to me that you have the "Pride and Prejudice" quote down, but I am not about to rummage through my bookshelf.....<VBG>>>............ |
