Synopsis
In 1966, following Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence, the United Nations had imposed trade sanctions in an attempt to bring down Ian Smith’s all-white government. There had now been elections-of which Mr. Lowenstein had been an observer, and Mr. Solarz had declined to be an observer-in which blacks were allowed full participation (cf. the Firing Line with Bishop Muzorewa, #S331), but President Carter had announced that the sanctions would continue against the country that its white rulers still called Rhodesia but the black majority called Zimbabwe. Although both guests want, as Mr. Lowenstein puts it, “a democratic government which would not be racist in its composition and which would be achieved with the least bloodshed possible,” they disagree, often heatedly, on the best means to that end. (in the event, “Zimbabwe Rhodesia” reverted to transitional British rule at the end of the year and the UN Security Council lifted the sanctions.)
Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Jr.
The Emmy Award–winning television program Firing Line with William F. Buckley Jr. ran for 34 seasons (1966–1999) and was the longest-running public-affairs show with a single host in television history. Host and conservative journalist William F. Buckley Jr. was interested first and foremost in respectful and lively debate, engaging in erudite discussions with statesmen, politicians, activists, economists, journalists, scholars, authors, religious figures, philosophers, poets, and actors whose opinions ranged across the political and ideological spectrum.
