I learned, from WFB, that grace in discourse was a virtue. I learned that disagreeing with someone’s politics did not require me to hate them; was, in fact, my loss, did I do so. I learned that I might, sometimes, myself be mistaken, and to be mindful of that even when I am certain of my stance.
He taught me to value douceur before I even knew the concept existed.
I see, here and there in commentary, that this lesson hasn’t “taken” everywhere.
We are the poorer for that, and for his loss.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine:
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
