"The Prince of Darkness is a gentleman." Shakespeare, King Lear
Some forty years ago, I interviewed the late William F. Buckley, Jr. although I had to bribe him to agree.
But it wasn't so bad. I bribed him for a song – or more precisely, for a couple of Bach lute pieces.
At the time, I was a graduate student at the University of Utah, and I also hosted a talk show at a local AM radio station, KSXX. I was a rare liberal among a solid roster of right-wingers.
When word got out that Buckley was in Utah to enjoy "the greatest snow on earth," the right-wingers at the station fell over themselves trying to grab an interview with the great man. No dice, they were told, Buckley was in-state for a ski vacation, and he took his vacations very seriously.
My weekends were also spent on the Wasatch Mountain slopes, and I subsidized this expensive pastime by playing classical guitar weekends at the Alta Lodge. ("It was a gas," as we used to say, whereby I got to jam with Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, and meet such notables as John Lindsey and Senator John Glenn. But I digress).
So with no hope of meeting, much less interviewing, Mr. Buckley, I did my usual Sunday gig at the Lodge including, as always, a few Bach lute pieces. Afterward, an elegant lady approached and said, "Oh, that was simply mahhvelous! If only my husband were here to listen to you. You will be here tomorrow, will you not?"
"Regretfully, Mrs. Buckley, I don't play on Mondays."
Somewhat surprised that I recognized her, she replied, "Oh I'm so sorry he can't hear you."
Seizing an opportunity, I added, "but I will happily make an exception and drive up later this week for a special performance, if Mr. Buckley will consent to an interview."
She promised to convey the offer to her husband.
The next day, I received a phone call from Buckley's traveling "Go-Fer:" "Mr. Partridge," he said, "I hear that you play a mean classical guitar!" Whereupon the deal was made.
If J. S. Bach didn't close the sale for me, there was an added incentive. In Utah at the time, most self-identified conservatives, and particularly those who called in to KSXX, identified "conservatism" with the paranoid rants of the John Birch Society and its founder, Joseph Welch. Buckley and Welch detested each other. When I told Mrs. B. that I wanted to separate her husband's "conservatism" from that of the crazies, she also conveyed that intention to Buckley, and he apparently took the bait.
I opened the interview with the promised topic: "Many people in Utah," I said, "equate 'conservatism' with the position of the John Birch Society."
After all these years, I vividly remember his reply: "with all due respect, and I do have that respect, I find it difficult to believe you."
Typical Buckley: flattery followed immediately by a put-down.
Dr. Ernest Partridge is a consultant, writer and lecturer in the field of Environmental Ethics and Public Policy. Partridge has taught philosophy at the University of California, and in Utah, Colorado and Wisconsin. He publishes the website, "The Online Gadfly" (www.igc.org/gadfly) and co-edits the progressive website, "The Crisis Papers" (www.crisispapers.org). His book in progress, "Conscience of a Progressive," can be seen at www.igc.org/gadfly/progressive/^toc.htm .
Little has been published regarding Buckley's work with the CIA, but in a 2001 letter to author W. Thomas Smith, Jr., Buckley wrote, “I did training in Washington as a secret agent and was sent to Mexico City. There I served under the direct supervision of Howard Hunt, about whom of course a great deal is known.”
He chose to use his intellectual gifts in the service of wealth, privilege and repressive social control.
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Michael Fury (3 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 37 comments)
on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 10:20:32 AM
