Ron Silver, a profile in courage
Ron Silver’s suffering is at an end. His passing Sunday ended a two-year long bout with esophageal cancer. He used to say that it was his curse to have been stricken with a type of that terrible disease that was so exotic that few people – and, until he came along, few if any celebrities – had contracted it. As a result, victims with cancer of the esophagus had no lobby generating large research and development budgets aimed at producing a cure. Their life expectancy was short, often measured in months after diagnosis. Ron quickly ran through the conventional therapies and then the exotic ones. The fact that he staved off death for as long as he did was a tribute to more than medical care and the love of his family; it was a reflection of his indominatable spirit.
The pain and trauma associated with his illness was, of course, but one of the things Ron Silver suffered with extraordinary equanimity and courage. Another was the brutal treatment he received at the hands of his one-time friends and colleagues in Hollywood after Ron embraced national security-minded policies and even President George W. Bush following the attacks of 9/11. These were considered by the dominant Left culture to be an intolerable apostasy and resulted in a blight on Ron’s ability to get work anywhere in the entertainment industry.
I had the privilege of visiting with Ron periodically over the months of his illness. He never exhibited any sense of self-pity over the hand he was dealt, or regret about the choices he had made. To the contrary, he exuded a robustness of spirit and an amazing equanimity about his fate. Even at his darkest moments, he displayed a wry sense of humor that inevitably made the listener feel less gloomy, and one can only hope did the same for him.
The world will remember Ron Silver as a gifted actor. His most important role, however, was as a man who found his real calling in using his abilities and prominence to advance causes of vital importance to the country he loved and to the preservation of its security. He will always be revered by those of us who shared his passion and admired his courage.
Mr. Gaffney is the host of Secure Freedom Radio, a nationally-syndicated radio program heard weeknights throughout the country. He is an associate author of highly acclaimed Shariah: The Threat to America and the publisher of over a dozen other books and monographs from the Center for Security Policy Press.
In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving U.S.-USSR relations, nuclear forces, arms control, missile defense policy and U.S.-European defense ties. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.
From August 1983 until November 1987, Mr. Gaffney was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under Assistant Secretary Richard Perle.
From February 1981 to August 1983, Mr. Gaffney was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by the late Senator John Tower (R-Texas). And, in the latter 1970’s, Mr. Gaffney served as an aide to the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Washington) in the areas of defense and foreign policy.
Mr. Gaffney holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Mr. Gaffney’s leadership has been recognized by numerous organizations including: the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award (1987), the U.S. Business and Industry Council’s Defender of the National Interest Award (1994), the Navy League of the United States’ Alfred Thayer Mahan Literary Achievement Award (1999), and the Zionist Organization of America’s “Louis Brandeis Award” (2003), the Western Conservative Summit’s Stephen H. Long Award (2015), the Council for National Policy’s George Washington Military Leadership Award (2016) and the IMPACT Award from Ginni Thomas and United in Purpose (2017).
Mr. Gaffney was born in 1953 and resides in the Washington, D.C. area.
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