A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity

by Bill O'Reilly

It was September 1957, and the future culture warrior Bill O'Reilly had just turned eight years old. In his third-grade class at St. Brigid's School in Westbury, New York, he did his best to challenge the rule of the diminutive, intense Sister Mary Lurana -- until one day he has remembered ever since: "One day I blurted out some dumb remark, and Sister Lurana was on me like a panther. Her black habit blocked out all distractions as she leaned down, looked me in the eye, and uttered words I have never forgotten: 'William, you are a bold, fresh piece of humanity.'"

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With his trademark wit abundantly on display, O'Reilly here reveals how his traditional outlook was formed in the crucible of his family, his neighborhood, his church, and his schools, and how his views on America's proper role in the world emerged from covering four wars on five continents over three-plus decades as a news correspondent.

What will delight his numerous fans and surprise many others is the humor and self-deprecation with which he handles one of his core subjects: himself, and just how O'Reilly became O'Reilly.

• The secret of his success: "Looking back, the reason that I have succeeded in life is that I relied on myself, not on some mythical theory about government."

• The secret of failure: "Most people on this earth are reluctant to take chances, to improve their lives, to escape a stifling situation like my father endured for his entire working life. The big reason that many folks accept the unacceptable and settle for less than they can achieve can be summed up in one word: fear."

• Child-rearing: "History clearly demonstrates that without structure and accountability, human beings have a tough time staying on the rails. And children must be taught this over and over again: an effective person must incorporate discipline into his or her life, and a just society must demand responsibility from its citizens."

• The individual and the society: "I stand solidly for self-reliance but realize that a fair social and economic system is necessary to complement that."

• The conservatives' big mistake: "Sometimes conservatives, like their leftwing counterparts, can be terribly wrong. . . You would think conservative leaders would have aggressively tried to control the illegal immigration situation, but they obviously did not. Big business wanted cheap labor and so the right did the wrong thing: they acquiesced to business and failed to act."

• Corruption: "Call me crazy, but I'd like all elected officials to be stand-up guys and gals. If you make a mistake, admit it. If the going gets tough, explain."

• Liberal media cowardice: "Most villains are cowards; they do their bad deeds feeling they are immune from retaliation. Nowhere is this more evident than in the corrupt American media."

• Media bias: "I feel very strongly that some in the media are abusing their constitutionally guaranteed privileges. It is flat-out wrong to hide behind the First Amendment while doing dishonest, destructive things. That wasn't the intent of the Founding Fathers."

• Welfare: "Independent thinkers like me realize that government safety nets must be provided for folks who cannot, for whatever reason, negotiate life on their own. That is realistic compassion. But in a nation of 320 million people, the government simply cannot 'provide' for your needs. It is truly impossible."

• The presidency of George W. Bush: "The crowning achievement of the Bush administration, usually ignored by the bitter leftwing media, is the hurt it put on al- Qaeda. . . Nevertheless, I have to agree with the critics that the post-Saddam planning by the Bush administration was abysmal."

• Scott McClellan and the Iraq war: "When I interviewed former White House spokesperson Scott McClellan on the Factor, he couldn't back up his well-publicized book's assertion that the Bush administration used 'propaganda' to take the nation to war. I crushed McClellan by saying President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair had backed up Mr. Bush. They saw the same intel on Iraq that he did. Were they pushing 'propaganda' as well?"

• Life: "Life is indeed unfair and nothing is going to change that. But if we ourselves strive to be fair, things will balance out. . . When people ask me what drives my fierce work ethic, why I work so hard when I don't have to anymore, I simply tell them that I'm still on a quest to make sure others get treated fairly."

• Priorities: "In a world that increasingly celebrates selfishness and excessive materialism, I don’t do that. I'm with the guys on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm with the nuns and priests attending to the poor in Haiti. I'm for the moms and dads working 60 hours a week trying to improve the lives of their children. While I have my forum in the media, those people will be celebrated and get a fair hearing every day.