A Thought for Charles Krauthammer

Syndicated columnist and longtime Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer has revealed he has only weeks to live following news that his cancer has returned and is rapidly spreading in an open letter. "This is the final verdict," wrote Krauthammer, "My fight is over."

Krauthammer went on to write:

Lastly, I thank my colleagues, my readers, and my viewers, who have made my career possible and given consequence to my life’s work. I believe that the pursuit of truth and right ideas through honest debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking. I am grateful to have played a small role in the conversations that have helped guide this extraordinary nation’s destiny.

I leave this life with no regrets. It was a wonderful life — full and complete with the great loves and great endeavors that make it worth living. I am sad to leave, but I leave with the knowledge that I lived the life that I intended.

I agree wholeheartedly that debate and rigorous argument is a noble undertaking. Sadly, it is a lost art in the United States and in the Western World. You must be pro-Trump or anti-Trump down the line and any deviance from those stances is grounds to be called a traitor or worse. Despite his modesty about his contributions, Krauthammer's pen and voice will be sorely missed from the national conversation especially so in the age of Trump where reason seldom triumphs over passion on both sides of the ideological divide.

The best we can do is to imbue his spirit and read, listen, weigh the pros and cons carefully and make the strongest argument in favor of good ideas and against bad ideas. Of course, those who promulgate bad ideas aren't necessarily bad persons and conversely those who promulgate good ideas aren't always good persons. In other words, don't make arguments personal. Easier said than done I know. But Krauthammer managed to find a way. And so can we if we try.