I. Why Don’t We Complain

Why Don’t We complain? –

William Frank Buckley, Jr.

1

I.

Why Don’t We Complain?

About the author

Buckley,

William

F., Jr.

(1925

–

…),

an

American

editor

and

author,

is

one

of the

best

-known

spokesmen

for

political

conservatism

in

the

United

States.

He

founded

the

magazine

National

Review

in

1955

and

served

as

its

editor

until

1990,

when

he

resigned.

Buckley

also

writes

a

widely syndicated newspaper column and conducts a nationally televised discussion program.

William Frank Buckley, Jr., was born in New Y

ork City and graduated from Y

ale University. In his

first

book,

God

and

Man

at

Y

ale

(1951),

he

attacked

the

liberal

viewpoints

that

he

said

were

common at Y

ale. His other political books inc

lude

Up from Liberalism (1959) and The Unmaking

of

a

Mayor

(1966).

Buckley

also

has written

a

number

of spy

thrillers,

starting

with

Saving

the

Queen (1975). He has told of his own adventures in

Racing Through Paradise:

A

Pacific Passage

(1987)

and

other

books.

In

1965,

he ran

unsuccessfully

as

the

Conservative

Party

candidate

for

mayor

of

New

Y

ork

City.

His

brother

James

L.

Buckley

served

as

a

U.S. senator

of

New

Y

ork

from 1971 to 1977.

______________________________

About the structure of the text

The

author

gives

a

variety

of

examples

to

make

his

point.

Some

examples

are well-developed

while

others

are

just

touched

upon.

By

a

combination

of

these

examples

the

author

leads

us

naturally to his generality at the end of the article. These examples are: the author’s experience in

the train (paragraphs 1 to 4), the author and his wife in the cinema (paragraphs 5 to 8), the author

at his breakfast in a restaurant in New Y

ear’s Day (paragraph 11), the author at the ski repair store

in Pico Peak, V

ermont (paragraphs 13 to 17), the author in an airplane (paragraph 18), the reason

the American people are so reluctant to assert themselves in various matters (paragraph 19), the

American people’s political apathy (paragraphs 20 to 23).

Why Don’t We complain? –

William Frank Buckley, Jr.

2

________________________________

About the text

fleck ----

to mark with spots of color, light or the like; speckle

Westchester County

----

Many communities in the New Y

ork area are commuter suburbs. Their

residents

work

in

New

Y

ork

City

and

commute

by

automobiles,

buses,

ferries,

railroads,

and

subways.

Some

of

these

suburbs,

such

as

White

Plains

in

Westchester

County,

have

become

important centers of business and shopping outside the central city.

edge ----

sharpness; the quality of being sharp or keen

sibilant ----

hissing; having or making a hissing sound

When he spoke, his voice was usually low and sibilant.

stupor ----

a dazed condition; loss or lessening of the power to feel; a state in which the mind and

senses

are

dulled;

partial

or

complete

loss

of

sensibility,

as

from

the

use

of

a

narcotic

or

from

shock; mental or moral dullness or apathy.

(SYN) lethargy, torpor

???

I had only just uttered the word

“

condu ctor

”

, and there was no sibilant consonant in the word.

Why did my seatmates consider my question to be a

sibilant

intrusion into his stupor?

）

I am incapable of making a discreet fuss ----

Whenever I lodged a complaint, I made a scene of

it.

The injured man lay in a stupor, unable to tell what had happened to him.

The remark had a biting edge to it.

Slander, whose edge is sharper than the sword. (Shakespeare)

The bird’s breast is flec

ked with brown.

Sunlight coming through the branches flecked the shadow cast by the tree.

When a banana ripens it is flecked with brown.

Why Don’t We complain? –

William Frank Buckley, Jr.

3

discreet ----

very careful in speech and action; showing good judgement; wisely cautious

discreet fuss ----

oxymoron ???

Stamford ----

(pop. 108,056) It is an important business center in southwestern Connecticut. The

city

lies

on

Long

Island

Sound,

about

35

miles

(56

kilometers)

northeast

of

New

Y

ork

City.

Stamford,

together

with

Norwalk,

forms

a

metropolitan

area

with

a

population

of

329,935.

Stamford ranks among the leading cities as a site for headquarters of large corporations. A

number

of

the

nation

’

s

biggest companies

have

home

offices

in

Stamford.

The

city

’

s

leading

industries

include

printing,

publishing,

and

the

production

of

chemicals,

electrical

equipment,

office

machines, and textiles.

set in ----

to begin

nonchalant

----

without

warmth

or

enthusiasm;

coolly

unconcerned;

casually

indifferent;

apathetic

Gauntlet ----

n. a former military punishment in which the offender had to run between two rows

of men who struck him with clubs, etc. as he passed. The conductor should have been consigned

to this military punishment.

run the gauntlet ----

to be punished by means of the gauntlet; to proceed while under attack from

both sides, as by criticism, gossip, etc.

remedy ----

to put right; make right; cure; to put back in proper condition; put right; to correct or

remove (an evil, etc.).

A

thorough cleaning remedied the trouble.

a nonchalant manner

a nonchalant reply

She remained quite nonchalant during all the excitement.

Winter set in early.

It seems to me you lived your life

like a candle in the wind, never knowing who to cling to

when the rain set in.

A

discreet person does not spread gossip

Why Don’t We complain? –

William Frank Buckley, Jr.

4

visualize ----

to form a mental picture of; (something not present to the sight, an abstraction, etc.);

envision

supine ----

lazily

inactive;

listless,

esp.

morally

or

mentally;

languid,

indolent,

inert;

sluggish;

passive

apprehensively ----

feeling alarm; afraid, anxious or fearful about the future; uneasy, or worried

glaring ----

very bright; shining so brightly that it hurts the eyes; dazzling

hector ----

to bluster at; to browbeat; to bully; to intimidate; to threaten; (Here) to annoy

irksome ----

annoying; tiresome

(SYN) wearisome

contortion ----

twisted condition; distorted form or shape

Contort ----

to twist or wrench out of its usual form into one that is grotesque; distort violently

unobtrusive ----

not obtrusive; modest; inconspicuous

a face contorted with pain

The acrobat went through various contortions.

Washing dishes all day would be an irksome task.

Company was irksome to me. (Mary W

. Shelley)

He hectors his children, bewilders his friends. (

New York Time

)

The student made a glaring error in spelling.

---- ALSO, very easily seen; conspicuous; obvious

The captain felt apprehensive for the safety of his passengers during the storm at sea.

to visualize a

friend’

s face when he is away

to visualize the scene of a battle