A Bit Late
I know that I am a bit late on this item, but I want to acknowledge and mourn the passing of one of the 20th century's most impressive thinkers- Daniel Patrick Moynihan. The former Senator always stood as a role model to me, a symbol that one could be an intellectual and a politician, that the two were not contradictory avocations. He was a man who had the courage of his convictions and was willing to weather the storm generated by his work. He never backed down and has proven one of the most astute modern social scientists for his work on race and ethnicity in America in Beyond the Melting Pot.
While many public intellectuals tailor their work to their political audience, Pat Moynihan always spoke without regard to political trends. He was a steadfast intellectual who refused to be moved by popular political currents. There is not anyone like Pat Moynihan in American intellectual or political life now, and that makes his passing all the more sorrowful.