Well, We All Have Our Contradictions.

by the Pirate on February 28, 2008

Joyner indulges in a little meditation on the subject of William F. Buckley’s relationship with homosexuality. (And, by the way: my congratulations to anyone who can decipher what Vidal and Buckley were saying during that infamous heated exchange in ’68—two clipped upper-class East Coast accents are more than I can handle at once, particularly when they’re talking over each other.)

“Love the sinner; hate the sin.” That is probably the best one can hope for from orthodox Christians of a certain stripe. It is the best one could have hoped for from Buckley, as he was a Roman Catholic.

I regard myself as a Christian, yet I agree with Joyner that morally conflating sex with burglary is a bit much. As for Andrew Sullivan’s remark that

Liebman was indeed a brother in combat, one of the great gay foes of totalitarianism, up there with Whittaker Chambers and Alan Turing. But he was always reminded that his gayness would bar him from full inclusion as an equal in the conservative movement,

I would remind people that most Libertarians are regarded in the same light. Even the ones who don’t smoke pot; that’s just the way things go. Are we all so sensitive that our happiness hangs on the thread of others’ approval? That would be sad.

For a more robust approach to “defending homosexuality” (whatever that means) from a Conservative perspective, see: “Goldwater, Barry.” Now there was a man.

There remain these three: Reagan, Buckley, and Goldwater. But the greatest of these was . . . Goldwater.

Scout’s honor.

{ 1 comment }

McGehee February 29, 2008 at 2:41 pm

Are we all so sensitive that our happiness hangs on the thread of others’ approval? That would be sad.

Not to mention contrary to the spirit of libertarianism…

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