Giants
Gore Vidal This week we lost an intellectual giant. Gore Vidal died. Love him or hate him there was no question he had a mind larger than most. From literature to politics and opinion Gore Vidal had a talent for the artistry of the mind. He was a devout liberal who believed in a progressive society and often frustratingly to conservatives found a way to represent his opinions with logic and fact. He was an eminent historian and wrote several comprehensive novels. The grandson of a blind Oklahoma Senator Thomas Gore, he lived a gifted North Eastern life. Despite his privileged when it came time to enter an Ivy League University he instead chose to be a warrant officer in the United States Navy during World War II. He followed in the footsteps of his father who was an officer and flight instructor at the United States Military Academy. He was filled with contrasts. He had both male and female lovers and while labeled a liberal actually considered himself a conservative.