A tribute to Walter Williams

With the arrival of Black History Month this year, I recently started to reflect on one particular black man who has greatly affected my life. I first became acquainted with Walter Williams through my father, who listened to Williams on the radio when he was a substitute host for the Rush Limbaugh Show. I know Rush Limbaugh doesn't sit well with many people and frankly, I'm not very fond of him either. Nevertheless, on those days when Williams would host the show, my father and I looked forward to hearing a rare voice of common sense and reason. His commentaries were addictive and every road trip would be met with the question, "Is Walter on?" Whenever we reached our destination we faced the dilemma of where to find the nearest radio so we didn't miss any of the Williams program. I'm sure many of you are wondering why I regard this man so highly.\nWalter Williams is John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University in Virginia. He grew up in Philadelphia and attended high school just a few minutes from my hometown of Fairmount (a small immigrant neighborhood in North Philadelphia).\nWilliams has spent much of his life defending personal liberty and the principles set forth in the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. His values are shaped by the rules of natural law and draw upon the philosophies of great thinkers such as Edmund Burke, John Locke and Sir William Blackstone. Williams uses these ideas in combination with the ideals and writings of our Founding Fathers to promote what he calls the "legitimate role of government in a free society." \nIn order to preserve these priceless fundamentals of personal liberty, government must play a limited role. In fact, his latest book is titled, "More Liberty Means Less Government: Our Founders Knew This Well." Because of the gargantuan growth of government in the 20th century alone, Williams' message is especially important as we begin the 21st century. \nAlthough an intellectual, Williams dismantles the status quo or mainstream thought on government with witty, down-to-earth commentary.\nIn the past few years, Walter Williams' opinions have played a crucial part in shaping my political thought process and reasoning. He has challenged some of my beliefs and reinforced some existing positions I hold dear. Most importantly, though, he has helped me to establish a set of principles that govern my thinking. In an age where so much stock is put into political affiliation and not many people actually contemplate what is going on in our society, opinions grounded in principle are needed more than ever before.\n Last March, I sent my copy of Walter's latest book to his office at George Mason for an autograph. The book was promptly returned with the following inscription: "To Vincent Carr, May these essays give us another argument or two for the moral superiority of personal liberty - Walter E. Williams." Williams' arguments through his newspaper columns have been a weekly source of inspiration for me; his story and his words have encouraged my work as a budding columnist. Although his views are not always popular, he is a voice of common sense who refuses to be silenced. In this time when we all reflect on the contributions of blacks in our society, I hope that history does not deny Walter E. Williams the respect and recognition his achievements deserve.