The passing of William F Buckley

If you love ideas and their power, you must love William F. Buckley.

You need not agree with every his idea to have affection for his style and integrity. He would grant you that same respect while attempting to shred your argument.

This was a man of civilization, a man of a higher order who believed that we should come together in openness to the marketplace of ideas and dialogue in the fullest faith.

It is with his death this weekend that I consider what breaks my heart the most about the downfall of public discourse in America. Here was a man of thousands of newspaper articles, television programs, and dozens of books produced with civility as a cardinal value.

May we follow in his footsteps and take pains to regain such civility in this nation.

Garland