Another great conservative thinker has been lost

It’s been a horrible, awful, terrible 9 months for conservatives. Losing Chip on May 31, 2020 was the worst thing I could ever imagine on an emotional and personal level, but his death was also a huge loss for my deepening understanding over the years of conservative values, beliefs, ideals and principles. With his departure from this world, so too went everything he had yet to teach me about the Constitution, our God-given rights, American and world history, fiscal responsibility and good stewardship of taxpayer dollars, and a great many other powerful ideas. I had learned immense amounts already from Chip, but there was still so much more to learn.

Then, in early December 2020, we lost Walter Williams, an economist, conservative and George Mason University professor. Born in Philadelphia, just a rock’s throw from where Chip grew up, Professor Williams grew up poor, working as a cab driver at one point in his life. For his entire life (for as far as I can tell), Williams was a proponent of the free market. In an article in December, 2019, he wrote an article titled “The Morality of Free Markets” (You can read it here) and explained why free. Markets are morally superior to other markets. He posted a video asking “Is Capitalism Moral?” in September 2015 (it can be viewed here) and proceeded to answer his own question perfectly. I learned so much from Williams’s articles, videos and interviews over time. Losing him in 2020 was a very real loss for a Libertarian-leaning conservative who uses the Constitution as he guide, like myself.

After Chip and Walter Williams left this world, there was comfort knowing that, amongst other conservative thinkers, Rush Limbaugh was still out there to listen to in order to help me probe and learn more about conservatism, which has lifted more people out of poverty than socialism, leftism or communism ever has. There was comfort knowing that not only could I turn on the radio and listen critically to conclusions Rush drew and facts he stated (that I fact-checked myself), but I could also hear the voice of someone who was still actively fighting to live with cancer, just as Chip had done. I could agree or disagree with Rush’s analyses every day, between the hours of noon and 3pm, and know that cancer had not won. But, now, he is gone too.

I knew it was coming when Rush announced at the end of December that he didn’t have much time left and that treatments were no longer effectively managing his lung cancer. I could hear the resignation in his voice. It was a sad day for me then, and today I feel even sadder. Another great conservative thinker and soul has been lost. Another hard-working, spiritual, kind, and good human being who stood up for God, God-given rights, love of country, freedoms and liberty time and again could no longer keep up the fight against the evils of cancer.

May the memory of great conservatives like Chip Copeland, Professor Walter Williams, and Rush Limbaugh, and all the freedom-loving souls who have ever lived, be eternal.