Ron Silver, In Memoriam

Hollywood lost one of its best representatives with the recent death of actor Ron Silver, but the rest of America is probably mourning his loss more than Tinseltown.

Silver will be remembered as unusual for his intellect and the courage of his convictions. Unlike typical liberal actors, he could think for himself, even if no one around him were able to reach the same conclusion, and he could bravely speak out in favor of his beliefs, at the risk of losing friends or job opportunities. Of course, Silver could do so because he could back up his opinions with historical facts. He possessed an amazing combination of talent, that of being able to be both a student of history and an accomplished actor, which gave him the gift of being able to cite appropriate, lengthy quotations -- verbatim -- when making his point, and with the skill only an actor could demonstrate.

Before September 11, Silver was known as one of those typical liberal actors, although he had been in favor of strongly prosecuting the Cold War, unlike many on the left. At Bill Clinton's first inauguration, for example, Silver had infamously expressed outrage at the military flyover, until he realized that now that a liberal Democrat was Commander in Chief, "those are our planes."

But one of the many things to change on September 11 was the attitude of some liberals. Silver was an outspoken leader among them who realized the nature of the threat to the life and liberty of all free people posed by Islamic terrorists, as well as the need to act decisively to counter this threat without sacrificing freedom. He even recognized that there was little distinction between the Islamic terrorism of al-Qaeda and tyrants like Saddam Hussein. Although he remained a liberal on other issues, Silver's recognition of the critical importance of security led him to support conservative Republicans like Rudolph Giuliani and George W. Bush -- even to the point of speaking at the Republican National Convention in 2004. Silver's outspokenness cost him some work in his field, but he died with the satisfaction of knowing that he was right.

With the passing of Ron Silver from the scene, the cause of liberty has lost one of its most eloquent and unique supporters, but we shall continue his legacy as long as we courageously stand for freedom. May he rest in peace.