John Ridpath (1936-2021): An Orator for Hallowed Ground

We lost a great man with the passing of Dr. John Ridpath, the well-known professor of  intellectual history at York University in Toronto, a fellow Objectivist, and an excellent public speaker. 

In 1992, I saw John Ridpath speak at Conceptual Conferences, an Objectivist conference I went to in Williamsburg, Virginia. His speech on the history of Virginia and its impact on America's founding featured his own passion for the American Revolution. When he spoke about how this state went from the Jamestown settlement to the battle of Yorktown, he was sometimes moved to tears, as was the audience, including yours truly. 

The speech carried well in the conference room, due to the microphone and speakers, to be sure, but also to his six-foot height and his deeply resonant voice. Every point seemed to hit home. The moment he ended this 100-minute speech with "Thank you," there was an immediate standing ovation from most of the room of 300 people. He was the best orator I had ever seen, and I eventually bought the speech on cassette, which was later titled "This Hallowed Ground."

What was John Ridpath passionate about? Ridpath loved the defense of individual rights and the virtue in America's founding and that America represents. 

Though a Canadian citizen, Ridpath considered himself American in spirit, and even his occasional nods to Canadian culture seem to be Americanized. In another speech on the Declaration of Independence, he read the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John D. McCrae, perhaps the most revered piece of literature by Canadians. The poem is so amazing that it could by itself justify Canada's existence. Sort of Canada's version of the Gettysburg Address, like Lincoln's speech, it, too, honors fallen heroes of war. A few lines from that poem, spoken by dead soldiers in a cemetery:

Take up our quarrel with the foe!

To you from falling hands we throw

The torch, Be yours to bear it high!

Many of Dr. Ridpath's speeches followed this tradition of praise for the greats of the past.

Never really spoke with Dr. Ridpath, but I managed to steal a handshake from him once. During that same 1992 conference, someone had left his shoes at a poker game the night before, at Leonard Peikoff's suite during this conference. The next morning, Dr. Peikoff put these shoes on the lectern to find out who owned them, before his own speech began. 

(Side note: I took Leonard Peikoff's picture with the shoes on that lectern. He lightly protested -- "Don't get a picture of the shoes." My response: "We need the shoes for scale." This somehow won the only argument I ever had with Leonard Peikoff.)

So yeah, those shoes. Turned out they were owned by John Ridpath, who I made a point to sit next to for Dr. Peikoff's speech. This was a surprise to the audience. You had to wonder what a John Ridpath is like in party-hearty mode. Did this defender of Patrick Henry get a bit smashed the night before? Here's this tall, lanky figure, devoted to speaking often on solemn topics, stand up, sheepishly approach the podium, collect his shoes, and sit down next to me. 

I stuck out my hand for a free handshake, and he shook my hand. It wasn't really a context for a normal handshake, but hey, I was seized by the moment, had to try, did, and succeeded.

People should look up Dr. Ridpath's works of intellectual, philosophical, economic, and historical subjects. Many of his lectures from courses are available for listening on YouTube. They include debates on capitalism versus socialism, an entire course on Karl Marx, and a number of other offerings. I believe some of his lectures and courses are available on mp3. 

All my best to Ridpath's family and friends. Dr. John Ridpath, we shall take up your quarrel with the foe, and hold the torch of liberty high.