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Ricochet People
Last Thursday night was a high point.
No, not because we recorded a live GLOP Culture podcast, but because we did it in a room with dozens of Ricochet members and contributors. And then, afterwards, we all repaired to a local bar to talk some more, have a drink or two, and get to know each other. It was a Reagan Member event, but we have all-member meetups and gatherings all the time.
They are all, for me, a high point.
I have no real memory of what we all talked about. Some politics, some history, some scurrilous gossip, some absurdist humor, everything.
Membership in Ricochet is like that: a chance to get to know people from all over, people who are more-than-less aligned with a conservative, center/right (pick one) world view. Which means that although we disagree about a lot of things, we’re essentially cheering from the same sideline. You can get to know your fellow Ricochet members online; you can get to know them in person. You get to talk about everything.
And yes, this is me asking you to join us. It’s free for 30 days, the way.
Ricochet has fewer than 10,000 members. But we have hundreds of thousands of readers and hundreds of thousands of podcast listeners.
What we need are somewhere around 10,000 members to keep this thing going. Which isn’t impossible, and isn’t even unlikely. But it’s important that we hit that number, and hit it soon.
So to those of you who are reading this right now and aren’t members, I’m asking you to click here and join us today.
It’s risk free. You have 30 free days to try it out.
Because although some of you tell me, Hey, I’m not a writer and don’t want to post or comment, I just like to read and that’s free, I say:
Yeah, you’re right. But we’ve got thousands of members who said the same thing.
And thousands of them read something here, or elsewhere, at one time and thought, Hey, I have something to add to this. Maybe it was a personal anecdote, maybe it was a short-but-snappy insight, maybe it was just a joke that made us all laugh. And they knew when they did that Ricochet is a place where we treat each other — or try damn hard to — with civility and good faith. (Unless we’re talking about Sarah Palin or gay marriage, but then nothing is perfect…)
Look, this is a community. Warts and all. If you’re reading this, you’re a part of it.
Yes, you can read it for free, and listen to the podcasts for free. But being a member really is something special.
And if you do, come to the next meetup, and if I’m there we’ll all share a toast and have a conversation like friends. Which is exactly what we did on Thursday night.
Published in General
I was at the Thursday event in Washington as a Regan-level invitee, and I must say I had an absolutely splendid time: fabulous location, great food, and great company both at the pre-dinner reception, at dinner, and in the bar afterwards. The real treat, of course, was meeting and spending time with people whose books (yes, I got a few of those signed), articles, television appearances, and podcasts I’ve read, watched, listened to, and enjoyed for years. Meeting some fellow Ricochet members for the first time was delightful also. The intellectual content was stimulating (boy, is Sen. Ben Sasse impressive), and the, er, non-intellectual content in the bar at the end of the evening great fun.
I signed up for Ricochet originally because I wanted to support the enterprise from which I derived so much (at the time, free) podcasting pleasure. I later upped to a Reagan level membership, an investment that one evening in DC has already repaid in spades. If you’re a Ricochet regular but not a member, please do the right thing and sign up, because we’d like to keep this splendid thing going.
The only downside of my Ricochet DC experience was the discovery after my return that I have failed as a parent: my 13-year-old children (yes, twins, fifty-percent of whom are male) were insufficiently impressed by the news that I’d met Hans von Spakovsky, Rich Lowry, Rob Long, Jonah Goldberg, and John Podhoretz, not to mention one of the founding members of Blue Öyster Cult (this is true). They (the children, that is) will be punished.
Join our fabulous community. This week in the member supersubscriber feed has featured
Various session from the NR ideas summit. I felt so fortunate to be able to listen to such bright and witty people. Heck, even Krauthammer was witty, under the dour brilliance that he is, but witty none- the-less. I even learned that I actually liked Jed Bush – something I was not prepared for. Today I listened to the interview with John Kasich and I even got a little thrill running up my leg. Seriously, I was moved to near tears. I was so thankful to have the opportunity to listen to these sessions. Thank you Ricochet! Oh, and I re-upped my Thatcher membership. Nothing like an email from Mr Long himself to prompt a quick reply!
Every time I get to attend one of these meetups I feel like I’m hanging out with long lost friends even though it’s rare that we ever met in person before. These folks are a delight to engage in just about any conversation and I always am a little grumpy when it’s time to go home…
Finally, I can not even begin to describe how gracious and entertaining Rob Long is. A chance to see how quick witted and thoughtful he is is worth the price of every level of Ricochet membership combined!
I think Troy’s phrase is “a reunion of people who’ve never met.”