Following Steyn: Writing and Radio

 

I’ve followed Mark Steyn for the last few years. I became aware of him in the early 2000s, not sure exactly when.

 First book I read was his America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It which juxtaposed Western decadence and Eastern advancement. More importantly it introduced everyone to the critical importance of demography. There was a famous saying in the book ‘demography is destiny’ or something to that effect. His point was that America is the last Western power that really believes in itself. The Europeans, Japanese and most of the democratic powers are experiencing decline. As a result they are importing immigrants from North Africa and other Muslim majority countries.

They don’t share the same traditions. Sharia law guides their lives and they ignore the laws of the countries they live in. It creates conflict like the explosion of terrorism across the continent. He’s written several books since but to me, it’s his most important book.

He isn’t just a great writer. He never loses track of first principles in his opinions, whether in print or on the radio. Most Americans probably became familiar with him through his hosting gigs on the Rush Limbaugh show. The last year of Rush’s life 2020 (the cancer treatment year) say Mark fill in for the great man all too frequently.

He became the only guest host I looked forward to. Nothing against Todd Herman or any of the others who were asked to step up but Mark is smarter and more entertaining. He got a little grumpy toward the end though. He’d complain on the air about the lack of notice to appear and how it was starting to affect his other work. It wasn’t disrespectful but it became a common refrain. The trade-off for working without notice on the EIB network is exposure. But getting Mark to talk about his website and solicit new members wasn’t easy. He probably thinks asking makes him sound like a shill.

I jumped on his website the other day to catch up on his articles. He does a little less of the daily opinion and more of the radio and TV stuff now. I prefer his writing to his audio shows and his GB News spots. The last one is a new development. He always used to appear on Fox with Tucker or the Fox & Friends morning show. I listened to him explain that he was tired of being the comic relief guy in a serious age. I understand his reluctance to keep doing the same shtick, but he’s quite funny.

He wasn’t going to last there without getting his own show anyway. I think that’s what he has been aiming for. All those fill-ins for Tucker and chances to turn phrases and make hilarious points weren’t for nothing. He’ll be remembered in some circles as the author of Thoroughly Modern Milley, the mock phrase directed at General Milley after his disastrous congressional appearance. In it he told the committee that he hoped to “understand white rage”.

  I think his personal Mark Steyn Show that filmed in New Hampshire, is done. After a lawsuit cut the legs out from under it. The funding for the TV show was from CRTV, a conservative channel that owns other properties including Mark Levin’s show. I tried watching it but the segments were long and designed to show off his wit and knowledge of global affairs. It needed a producer who knew how to speed things along.

There is a bit of that in his newest GB show as well. He likes lengthy discourses and clever retorts. It’s not ideal for quick soundbites television demands. Not that he can’t change and become a great host, but he looks ill at ease to me. I do hope it goes well for him but I’m disappointed that his writing output is at half speed. There are only so many hours in a day after all.

He’s always been a brilliant writer of the arts too. That’s not my interest so I usually just scan. His still does the song of the week, every week. To me it’s always too long. I imagine it’s like reading the sports page without an interest in sports. He has a famous line he always dryly mentions during his reader questions and answers. That membership isn’t for everyone. I like that touch of honesty for his listeners. It’s like he knows his interests diverge significantly from his audiences.

I’ve never been a member and I don’t believe I ever will. But as a writer on global affairs there is no one better. Even if he is an eternal pessimist and something of a diva, his explanations of geopolitical realities have stuck with me for years.