David Horowitz, who was raised as a revolutionary and later wrote” Next Ideas” about the New Left and rose to prominence as one of conservatism’s most eloquent leaders, passed away on April 29 at the age of 86.
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In his book” The Liberal Crackup,” R. Emmet Tyrell described liberalism in the 1980s as the long, strange intellectual journey taken by Horowitz in the 1970s and 1980s. This path was followed by millions of Baby Boomers who also grew up liberal and were shaken by the failures of Lyndon Johnson’s” Great Society” and liberalism’s “riot of conciets.”
The” Radical Son” was forced to re-evaluate the bases of his ideas by the Black Panthers ‘ killing of a close colleague, according to Horowitz. Horowitz suggested that Horowitz hire Betty Van Patter, who was a collaborator with Black Panther leader Huey Newton and who was a collaborator of Horowitz ‘ radical left journal” Ramparts Magazine.” Horowitz began to reevaluate his extreme views when Van Patter died a few weeks after.
Horowitz did not immediately turn to the straight. However, when he began to question the substance of his ideas, the excursion had only one logical conclusion.  ,
Millions of young Americans reexamined their views on a regular basis. I counted among them. I was far too Midwestern and Roman Catholic at the time, but I also played a dramatic on campus. After graduating from college, I entered the real world. I witnessed the outcomes of the McGovern and Great Society revolutions in personality politics. Perhaps so, we knew where it was going.
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My father gave me” The Conservative Mind” by Russell Kirk for Christmas 1978. The light went away, and I began to research the writers and thinkers who were reviving conservatism.  ,
Horowitz attempted to keep his communist friends from learning about his change. He was aware of the repercussions of infidelity, but Horowitz and his other leftist heretic Peter Collier only emerged as followers of Ronald Reagan in 1984.  ,
The” Second Thoughts Conference” was held in 1987 by Horowitz. The New Left’s protest in Washington in October 1967 was commemorated at the conference’s 20th celebration. Horowitz reflected on the realization that his whole life had been a Marxist exist.
For the first time in my informed life, I was looking at myself in my individual nakedness without the aid of innovative hopes, without the belief in a revolutionary potential — without the sense of self-importance conferred by the role I would enjoy in remaking the world. This was a recently inconceivable possibility… entered my head. For the first time in my life, I confronted myself because I was genuinely in the perpetual protest of animal activity. I was nothing.
My traditional worldview was shaped in this furnace of despair, as I began to look for alternatives to the political myths that had governed me up until that point.
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I honestly don’t believe a transformation like Horowitz’s may occur today. David had to come out and admit that he had been wrong his whole life, and it required a lot of courage to do so. Then he had to embrace the radical reverse ideology and stand up for it in the most eloquent and passionate way.
Horowitz founded the David Horowitz Freedom Center in 1998, which encapsulates its philosophy:” We are dedicated to the defence of free cultures whose moral, social, and economical foundations are under assault by enemies both secular and religious at home worldwide.”
The Center’s” Restoration Weekends” were a highlight of the year, featuring well-known speakers and attendees. Horowitz argued that fostering a conservative community would advance the movement and foster shared values. It would also continue to excite the intellectual conservatism’s passions.
Horowitz leaves behind his four children, four, and fourth wife, April.
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