William F. Buckley, Jr. RIP
ETCetera
Reverend Monsignor James Vanderholt

The nationally known writer, William Buckley died recently. The East Texas Catholic wants to remind our readers that he used to be a regular columnist for our paper in its early days. He is undoubtedly the most famous columnist we ever had, present writer included.

His columns predate the beginning of the Diocese of Beaumont. The Texas Catholic Herald of the Galveston-Houston Diocese signed him on. We inherited him when our diocese started and our paper went separate. It was Buckley’s policy that he would not serve more than one paper in each town. Shortly after our paper became separate from the Herald, Mr. Buckley’s agent notified us because he was also serving another local paper. Buckley dropped us. We did not drop him.

Buckley was very popular among political conservatives and is given credit for the resurgence of that movement in the 1960s. He was also a conservative Catholic in theology. Years ago, when Pope Pius XII was being attacked for his relations with Hitler’s Germany, Buckley was one of the first to come to his defense. On the other hand, when Pope John XXIII wrote his universally acclaimed encyclical, Mater et Magista (Mother and Teacher), Buckley featured on the cover of his magazine, Mother – yes; Teacher – no. Later, he described the social encyclicals of Pope John Paul II as “warmed over Marxism.”

The father of Buckley was born at Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas and became wealthy in exploring and discovering oil in Mexico.

Though born in New York City, Spanish was the first language of William Jr. Spanish was the language spoken in the home of William Jr.

The life of William Buckley Jr. reads like the novels he wrote in his later years. Buckley served briefly in the U.S. Army, during which time he was chosen to serve as an honor guard at the funeral of President Franklin Roosevelt.

He graduated from Yale University with majors in political science, history and economics, after which he served in the Central Intelligence Agency for a short time. This agency sent him to Mexico City where he served under the direct supervision of Howard Hunt (of later Watergate fame).

Buckley rose to national fame with his book, God and Man at Yale, in which he wrote that Yale had strayed from the religious commitment of its founders. His column, On the Right, was published in newspapers over the country from 1962 to the early 2000s. He also founded and edited the National Review magazine in 1955.

This magazine became a standard bearer for American conservatives and helped promote a fusion of conservatives and libertarians.

Though predictably conservative in politics, the National Review is credited for pushing the John Birch Society to the sidelines and moving Ayn Rand out of the popular spotlight.

His earlier columns stressed states’ rights so strongly that some of his friends accused him of racism. He later grew to admire Martin Luther King Jr. and supported a national holiday for him.

In 1965, Buckley ran for mayor of New York City as the candidate for the young Conservative Party. When asked what he would do if he won the race, he said, “I would demand a recount.”

He hosted public television’s Firing Line, the longest running serious TV talk show at that time.

One contribution Buckley left us was that you could be serious in politics without losing a sense of humor.