Trying To Dislike Bill O'Reilly, and Nearly Failing

IT IS POSSIBLE to be a part liberal, part conservative, although you wouldn't know it from listening to current American discourse. It is possible to be open minded. Perhaps you're familiar with Bill O'Reilly, whose confrontational television program draws much attention on the FOX network, fair, balanced, and conservative. O'Reilly is mostly conservative, but independent. Liberally, he believes that climate change is real and man made, and his favorite politician of all time is Robert F. Kennedy. He also believes that marijuana should be decriminalized, but that dealers of harder drugs should be punished extremely. Arrogant and rude, O'Reilly explains that he is just naturally that way, and that he has no alternative, because in his "NO Spin Zone", powerful and famous people, if not confronted, tell lies and justify bad behavior.That, plus, he was raised in a working class, tough neighborhood in New York, and learned how to fight, early and often. If you listen to him, he makes sense, most of the time. He reminds one of Goethe's statement: "confronted with great merit, there is no resistance but admiration." Yet, you want to resist. Its easy to try to dislike O'Reilly, but its difficult to actually do it, if one is fair and balanced. Like the rest of us, he claims to be seeking the truth; unlike most of us, he seems to comes fairly close to succeeding. In many ways, particularly in aiming straight at the truth and pulling the trigger, you could find a far worse role model. Like the rest of us, O'reilly is an occasional hypocrite. In his books he encourages us all to be paragons of undisputed virtue: keep your friends, always show kindness, earn respect through honesty and consistent behavior, and so on, blah blah blah. Marriage, according to the big O, is indispensable to a successful life, a successful life defined as "earning the respect of others". Say what? Marriage? Indispensible? Like, I am soooo totally sure. Thi advices was given before his own marriage ended in an acrimonious divorce, and a three year custody battle, which he lost. Not quite virtuous enough in divorce court, Bill? He was subsequently accused of abusing his ex spouse, a charge he quite naturally denied, vehemently. Then too, there was this unsavory business of the sexual harassment suit brought by one of his television producers, which ended with Bill making an out of court settlement payment of an undisclosed, but presumably substantial amount. Make sure your kids have straight teeth, and never, maintain good table manners, and never, ever use cliches in polite conversation, says he. Like, whatever.