F Buckley's Essay 'Why Don T We Complain?'

Born in New York City in 1925, William F. Buckley was one of ten children born to a Texas-born oil developer and lawyer. He spent his early life moving from New York to Mexico, Paris, England, and Connecticut, and was fluent in three languages. After his education he joined the military from 1943 to 1945, and then enrolled at Yale University. At Yale he was on the debate team and was the chairman of the Yale Daily News. Post-graduation, he spent two years in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It was in 1951 that he published his first book God and Man at Yale, which was a sharp criticism of the prestigious university. Despite harsh criticism, Buckley continued to write and published his second book McCarthy and his Enemies in 1954. In 1955, he began the National Review which became his most notable work, and in which he voiced his opinions which began the Conservative movement. Throughout the remainder of his life he published hundreds of works and in them he spoke openly about his views despite criticism
Buckley Jr. authored a short essay entitled “Why Don’t We Complain?” The essay poses the question, why don’t modern Americans complain, share their opinions, or take a stand? The essay, unintentionally, sums up what we can learn from Buckley in today’s world. Even though it was written over fifty years ago, Buckley’s call upon Americans to make a stand, and advocate for themselves remains just as important today as in 1961. We can learn from Buckley’s career of challenging institutions and ideologies to challenge what we believe to be wrong. We can learn to make a stand and to make our individual voices heard, despite unremitting