Belmont Club
March 15th, 2009 5:53 pm

The silver cord

Update: Roger Simon remembers.

I didn’t know him personally, but I’m very sorry to hear that Ron Silver has died. The NY Post says,

Actor and longtime political activist Ron Silver died this morning, succumbing to a long battle with cancer, friends of the liberal Democrat-turned-GOP stalwart told The Post.

“Ron Silver died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him this morning,” said Robin Bronk, executive director of the Creative Coalition, which Silver helped create.

“He had been fighting esophageal cancer for two years and his family is making arrangements for a private service.”

I think many of us, despite having no personal connection, can still claim kinship in that like him we have had to go through changes, sometimes abandoning or modifying our earlier beliefs in an attempt to stay faithful to our understanding of the truth. It may be, that had he lived long enough — if we live long enough — that one would go through not one but several sets of beliefs. But that is beside the point. He followed his north star as he saw it shining before him. Where he stopped was unimportant; he was the constant pilgrim. That’s all a man can do; and a life thus spent is well lived.

This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell; my blessing season this in thee!

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23 Comments

1. Gordon:

It is strange how one’s most steadfast beliefs come to be known by different names through life–without changing much a ‘liberal’ can become a ‘conservative’ 30 years later–yet the belief itself provides the anchor that shows you are keeping the faith. Polonius was right and that’s my favorite quote from Shakespeare.

Mar 15, 2009 - 7:05 pm 2. Louise:

The Silver Cord? That’s brilliant. Thank You.

Mar 15, 2009 - 7:13 pm 3. Lifeofthemind:

Knowing that men of Ron Silver’s intelligence, industry, practicality and fundamental decency can be found on all sides of an argument is a great gift. To often when we face the infantile caterwauling that has replaced argumentation the tasks of government appear to be so distastefully debased to a form of unending rubbish remover that the temptation becomes to withdraw. That is a great error that misjudges why the community at large confers honor to certain individuals or professions. The qualities of honor and respect are not conveyed as an additional bonus for people who are lucky enough to win life’s lottery. Even in aristocratic societies that would be a misunderstanding. Honor is conveyed on those who are willing to undertake difficult and dangerous tasks on behalf of the community, beyond the hazards that are faced by the rubbish remover. A healthy community encourages and honors it’s warriors even when the enemy they fight are not themselves respectable. This was a theme in The Grand Illusion. So we should fight the good fight for its own sake. In our weaker moments when we are tempted to throw in the towel we should remember that there are men of Ron Silver’s quality on the other side, that they are worth reaching, that they enrich our comprehension no matter which side of an argument they are on, they may change sides, or if they facts justify it so may we, and finally that there is no excuse for any of us on our side as wel as on our opponents to do worse.

Mar 15, 2009 - 8:16 pm 4. Lee Cockrell:

An underrated actor who I only really noticed recently. He stole the show in When Billie beat Bobby.

Mar 15, 2009 - 8:26 pm 5. Habu:

9-11 did in fact change our world forever as it did Mr. Silver’s.

Never forget.He didn’t
RIP, Ron

Mar 15, 2009 - 8:49 pm 6. Gaffe Prices:

A sobering sadness at the loss of a voice so skilled, so articulate, persistent and yes, passionately dramatic when necessary [arguably the greatest convention speech of them all, (take that verbose politicians)]

The sound of crickets chirping is fitting tribute from the rabid left, that maintains stedfast, its creed and now interminable vigil, that no good deed shall go unpunished.

Amen, Habu

Mar 15, 2009 - 9:55 pm 7. buddy larsen:

“We are all travelers in this world. From the sweetgrass, to the packing house. Birth till death, We travel between the Eternities”

(from “Broken Trails”)

Mar 16, 2009 - 12:25 am 8. buddy larsen:

NRO links to some nice thoughts by Johnny Pod.

Mar 16, 2009 - 12:30 am 9. buddy larsen:

H/t michelle malkin, here’s the text of his 2004 remarks to the Repub Nat’l Convention. The “but as for me” speech, as it is sometimes remembered.

Mar 16, 2009 - 12:53 am 10. buddy larsen:

re wretchard’s title:

Ecclesiastes 12:6

1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; 2 before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; 3 in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim; 4 and the doors on the street are shut as the sound of the grinding mill is low, and one will arise at the sound of the bird, and all the daughters of song will sing softly. 5 Furthermore, men are afraid of a high place and of terrors on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags himself along, and the caperberry is ineffective. For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street. 6 Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. 8 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “all is vanity!”

Mar 16, 2009 - 1:00 am 11. bob:

The writer of the above passage in Ecclesiastes seems to have broken solidarity with the spirit of the earth. The lambs don’t dance upon his hills, nor the cedars clap their branches and sing, for this writer. The will to do God’s work on earth as ’tis in heaven seems lost. Rather a longing to shed and return desacrilized dust to the mother as quickly as possible prevails, and a weariness and longing overcomes him. Men are afraid of the terrors of the road, the grasshopper drags himself along, vanity of vanities. Whatever it might be there, it doesn’t seem a winning attitude here.

Mar 16, 2009 - 3:06 am 12. buddy larsen:

Ecclesiastes 3:1

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (often attributed to King Solomon himself)

In the 12:6 it must be a time of acceptance of things as they are in that season. it *is* on the bleak side, for a fact. Also inspired the Byrd’s finest song, “Turn, Turn, Turn”.

Mar 16, 2009 - 6:15 am 13. buddy larsen:

i’m sorry, it was the latter, not the former, in the Byrds. duh –

Mar 16, 2009 - 6:17 am 14. weSwinger:

There is nothing bleak about the spirit returning to its Creator.

Mar 16, 2009 - 7:57 am 15. buddy larsen:

Yet it makes us sad to lose someone. Worse than sad.

Mar 16, 2009 - 8:30 am 16. Triton'sPolarTiger:

Agreed – I’m particularly sorry to see this guy depart, especially considering he’d come in from the dark side. Friendlies who at one time resided on the Left, do, when they awaken to reality, make the very best foxhole mates. I counted him among the good guys.

Mar 16, 2009 - 10:47 am 17. Lifeofthemind:

OT
The Dow is up slightly (7,324 at last check) for two reasons.

1) Dead Cat Bounce.
2) Pump and Dump
It is my suspicion that BHO’s friends are getting another round of cash out and will follow it with more shorting to extract a few billion more as the market slides towards 5,000 by May Day.

Mar 16, 2009 - 12:06 pm 18. twobyfour:

LotM, #17,

I suspect that your suspicion is correct. This cycle would be repeated several times, to the last twitch.

Mar 16, 2009 - 12:37 pm 19. Lifeofthemind:

@<twobyfour,
The Obama economic security (for his friends) plan as illustrated by Bram Stocker:

I was not alone. The room was the same, unchanged in any way since I came into it. I could see along the floor, in the brilliant moonlight, my own footsteps marked where I had disturbed the long accumulation of dust. In the moonlight opposite me were three young women, ladies by their dress and manner. I thought at the time that I must be dreaming when I saw them, they threw no shadow on the floor. They came close to me, and looked at me for some time, and then whispered together. Two were dark, and had high aquiline noses, like the Count, and great dark, piercing eyes, that seemed to be almost red when contrasted with the pale yellow moon. The other was fair, as fair as can be, with great masses of golden hair and eyes like pale sapphires. I seemed somehow to know her face, and to know it in connection with some dreamy fear, but I could not recollect at the moment how or where. All three had brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips. There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips.It is not good to note this down, lest some day it should meet Mina’s eyes and cause her pain, but it is the truth. They whispered together, and then they all three laughed, such a silvery, musical laugh, but as hard as though the sound never could have come through the softness of human lips. It was like the intolerable, tingling sweetness of waterglasses when played on by a cunning hand. The fair girl shook her head coquettishly, and the other two urged her on.

One said, “Go on! You are first, and we shall follow. Yours’ is the right to begin.”

The other added, “He is young and strong. There are kisses for us all.”

I lay quiet, looking out from under my eyelashes in an agony of delightful anticipation. The fair girl advanced and bent over me till I could feel the movement of her breath upon me. Sweet it was in one sense, honey-sweet, and sent the same tingling through the nerves as her voice, but with a bitter underlying the sweet, a bitter offensiveness, as one smells in blood.

I was afraid to raise my eyelids, but looked out and saw perfectly under the lashes. The girl went on her knees, and bent over me, simply gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white sharp teeth. Lower and lower went her head as the lips went below the range of my mouth and chin and seemed to fasten on my throat. Then she paused, and I could hear the churning sound of her tongue as it licked her teeth and lips, and I could feel the hot breath on my neck. Then the skin of my throat began to tingle as one’s flesh does when the hand that is to tickle it approaches nearer, nearer. I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the super sensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there. I closed my eyes in languorous ecstasy and waited, waited with beating heart.

Mar 16, 2009 - 1:10 pm 20. Roger L. Simon » In Memoriam - Ron Silver:

[...] UPDATE:Also read Lionel Chetwynd, Claudia Rosett and Richard Fernandez.) [...]

Mar 16, 2009 - 2:13 pm 21. steveaz:

Let it be said that Ron Silver went down fighting.

His latter-day work at conserving foundational American values honors his family and his memory.

Thanks Ron, for a job well done. Rest easy.
Peace

Mar 16, 2009 - 5:55 pm 22. Emphasis:

“A man of integrity will never listen to any plea against conscience”
Henry Home

I think it fits him

Mar 16, 2009 - 8:50 pm 23. marymcl:

He was a good man and he will be missed.
Godspeed and safe home, brother.

Mar 17, 2009 - 7:03 am

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