Thanks from a reader

I received this moving letter from Matthew C. today. Thank you, Matthew, for making my day. It was particularly helpful now.

Dear Mr. Auster:

I have begun and aborted this letter numerous times since December 20th. I seem unable to convey exactly that it is that I feel, so I am sending this letter, my original draft, as a best approximation.

Please accept this donation of one hundred dollars toward the activities of View from the Right. This gift is, as I will detail below, both long overdue and woefully inadequate. I have been reading VFR for approximately ten years now, which means my donation amounts to only about one dollar per month, an amount completely incommensurate with what I have received from VFR.

I will try to keep this brief. Ten years ago, I had been married for two years, had no children, was completely devoid of religious faith, and was fond of saying that I chose not to vote in elections because a non-vote is better than an uninformed vote. I have now been married for twelve years and have two beautiful sons. I have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior, and I have voted in each election since 2004 (though I have never been able to vote for a major-party candidate). Obviously such profound changes (and others—see below) come from a variety of places, but the prime mover, if you will, was absorbing everything that was written at VFR. The words of both you and your many high-quality commenters have not only informed me intellectually, but, perhaps even more importantly, inspired me emotionally. The comments of Thomas Bertonneau have inspired me to delve further into literature; those of Kristor have inspired me to learn more history; those of Laura Wood helped inspire my wife and me to decide that she should leave the workforce so that she could rear our children. And then of course your words, which echo my own thoughts but seem so much clearer than them at the same time.

It was such an elixir for me to read your words and see that there is a corner of the political right that worries about the same things I worry about. As you are no doubt aware, points of view such as ours can lead quickly to political isolation. Making matters worse for me, I am a graduate student at a major university, where I am surrounded by a one hundred percent liberal faculty and a nearly as uniform graduate student body. Due to my position, I must hold my tongue during political conversations. It is important for a man to have, if not an outlet, at least the knowledge of a group of allies that share his core beliefs. I want you to know that you and the contributors to VFR have been that group for me.

I thank you once again for all that you have so freely given to so many. I am sure that for every person who writes you a letter with a donation, there are probably twenty more who feel the same way but just haven’t gotten around to donating yet. Your work and your web site are having a profound effect on a large group of people. Please keep up the excellent work, and have a blessed Christmas.

Yours sincerely,

Matthew C.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at January 05, 2013 01:40 PM | Send