Gordon Lightfoot
November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023
Being Canadian, of course I was aware of the death of this famous singer-songwriter. I probably first became aware of Lightfoot in the 1960s, so in a sense he has been with me my whole life. I am not a big fan of folk music but I would recognize lots of his tunes.
Quote: “Sometimes I think it’s a shame, when I get feeling better when I’m feeling no pain.”
Pat Robertson
March 22,1930 - June 8, 2023
I was aware of Robertson before he ran for President in 1988. Although I was a Christian myself at that time, and my memory is far from clear, I probably preferred George H. W. Bush. From my perspective in 2023, Robertson would be one of the last Americans I would ever want to see in the White House.
My mind is on toxic masculinity these days, and Robertson is worth noting as an example.
Ted Kaczynski
May 22, 1942 – June 10, 2023
And here is more toxic masculinity, a man known as the Unabomber.
It is a dramatic story but I don't think I have seen the film. I have read that his Manifesto has some brilliant passages. The lesson from this is that intelligence and wisdom are two very different things.
Quote: "Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy, then gives them the drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society... Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed, modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect, antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual's internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable."
Tony Bennett
August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023
According to family, Tony Bennett kept singing until the end, even with Alzheimer's. I thought his late career collaboration with Lady Gaga was lovely. And he always seemed to be smiling, genuinely happy, very inspiring.
Yevgeny Prigozhin
June 1, 1961 - August 23, 2023
Like most people, I had never heard of Prigozhin until he got involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine. I followed his rebellion in June 2023 quite closely, very dramatic! For a very brief time, there was hope that one extremely toxic man would take out another extremely toxic man. But no such luck. We will probably never know the details of what really happened and I think it is a waste of time to look for the truth of the matter.
Henry Kissinger
May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023
Toxic men come in many shapes and sizes.
As someone who began following American politics and global geopolitics as a teenager, I have been aware of Henry Kissinger since the early 1970s. And as I went up in age, he went down in my assessment of him. But he had impact and it certainly was not all bad. And I will say that I prefer a pragmatist over an ideologue. Oh to have been a fly on the wall in his many meetings...
Quote: “Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac.”
Yes, apparently he really did say that.
I had a copy of his book, On China, but never got around to reading it, lost interest and gave it away.
Norman Lear
July 27, 1922 – December 5, 2023
As a Producer of sitcoms, Lear influenced my life and society in general in a very indirect way.
In the 1970s I enjoyed the political incorrectness of the Archie Bunker character in All in the Family. At that time we laughed. Then came political correctness. Then came the backlash against political correctness. Today we have a big mess with many people being too easily offended and with many too quick to offend.