The Washington Post
‘I’ve never read any other column … that resonated so deeply’
When Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer announced earlier this month that he had only weeks to live, he received an outpouring of support from fans, casual readers and folks who said they disagreed with his opinions but greatly respected them.
After his death on Thursday, we asked Post readers to tell us about a time his writing resonated with them. Here’s what some of you said, along with some tweets about Krauthammer that we enjoyed reading.
When I graduated from high school in 1993, my mom clipped the column “Beware the Study of Turtles.” While I learned I do not have the capacity to avoid the pitfalls of turtle study, there was another piece of advice in that column that has stuck with me: that by the time you learn to love yourself, you will be a senior citizen. In the age of “you have to love yourself before you love someone else,” I think the column was the first time I heard that maybe that adage was feel-good BS. That maybe it’s okay not to worry so much about loving yourself, and instead to just live your life — albeit sometimes wondering how many turtles were standing on top of each other keeping our planet stable. — David Petitti, Deerfield, Ill.
Charles Krauthammer’s intelligence, coupled with his unequaled wit and civility, are never to be heard again in real time. Only in short snippets will I be able to relive his unique style and decency in a society that has become indifferent to the rare breed that was Dr. Krauthammer. He was unsurpassed in his writing. He is not quite history yet, but will be soon enough, undoubtedly. The author Edward Bulwer-Lytton said, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” For me, there is no greater example of this in current times than Charles Krauthammer. I believe there is something beyond all of this when we physically leave this world. Dr. Krauthammer’s dignity in life and in facing his approaching and inescapable death will stay with me for the rest of my days. — Jana O’Brien, Glen Ellyn, Ill.