That flush of pride was followed by a bittersweet thought, as I remembered how my late father, Ted Flowers, had been included on Philadelphia Magazine's list of "79 People to Watch in '79." Here I was, carrying on the family tradition of making Philly Mag lists, and dad's not here to see it.
And then came the moment that the clouds parted, the sun crashed through with messianic rays of light and I felt blessed. There, on that same list of "People We Wish Would Just Shut Up Because, As Jack Nicholson Said, We Can't Handle the Truth," was my personal heroine, Camille Paglia. (Stu Bykofsky was also on the list - and I adore him - but he doesn't qualify as a heroine, so I'll have to save him for another column.)
I've admired Paglia for many years, which may come as a surprise to anyone who knows her work, and my writing. Paglia is tenured professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. But limiting her to that description would be like saying that Michelangelo did some painting. Paglia is a cultural phenomenon whose wisdom, wit, eloquence and sheer audacity have made her a pop-culture legend.
At a superficial level, it might seem a bit strange that I adore this woman. She is a lesbian, an atheist, a feminist and pro-abortion (her term).
I am none of these things. But unlike many of those in both the liberal and conservative camps who feel free to espouse their views knowing that their fellow travelers will agree and support them wholeheartedly, Paglia has the courage to defy expectations. She's argued that religion is important, that the gay-rights movement has no business forcing the Boy Scouts to accept gay scoutmasters, that feminists have engaged in Stalinist obstructionism and that those who oppose abortion might in fact hold the moral high ground.
Not your garden-variety intellectual, to say the least.
