And in the case of Timothy, of course, his message was greatly enhanced by its being accompanied, in millions of instances, by the ingestion of blotter acid, mushrooms, etc. How many millions who thought they were in square, "organization man" realities took LSD or a strong dose of some other psychedelic after hearing his effulminations?
Now the LSD movement would have occurred -- Timothy Leary or no. But it wouldn't have happened so well. His books remain. His voice remains. And my assumption is that his home page on-line will remain vibrant as well. Zach, his stepson, who has more than doubled in size since I carried him around on my shoulders so long ago, is now in charge of "The Global Village Voice" on his home page (www.leary.com). Those who don't know about Tim can from that get a sense of how extraordinary a person he was.
But why was Leary so special? And such a voice for a generation? What has been and will be the impact of his particular voice?
Why not start with the voice? Why is it that Martin Luther King, Jr., and, now, Jesse Jackson, are a "voice" for Afro-Americans? In this same way, Leary spoke for those who believe in psychedelics. Leary had a delivery as distinctive as that of Paul Harvey, a fast and smooth talker who happened to be telling the truth as he and many others saw it. In this respect he was mesmerizing in the same way that many younger psychedelicists are mesmerized by Terence McKenna. With modern technology, he'll be remembered much better than Mesmer!
Returning from a recent San Francisco Whole Life Expo, Bruce Eisner and I noticed a whole lot of cars at Bonny Doon Beach -- and realized there must be a rave going on. Sure enough, there was. And sampled within the music, you could hear Timothy's voice intoning "Think for yourself
. . . Question authority . . . Think for yourself . . . Question authority."
It could be noted that, in high school, Timothy's favorite class was drama! And that his first report card -- which is yet preserved -- marked him down for bad conduct!
Another significant aspect shaping his full and extraordinary life was that he had already become a noted psychologist before the events that got him booted out of Harvard. His big book by that time, The Multilevel Measurement of Interpersonal Behavior, is still read in colleges and universities. His test, "The Leary," as it's been known to lots of professionals, was actually administered to him when he began his ten-year sentence for the possession of two joints of marijuana! He was Dr. Timothy Leary, not just plain ol' "Tim."
During the '60s, and '70s, and '80s, and '90s, I got into the habit of thinking that he would, in an important sense, be taking me "on his trip" every six months, or every year, or so. That last one, in which he demonstrated that you don't have to go off in a corner to die, was surely spectacular! I liked the idea of a couple dozen friends renting wheelchairs and having fun going about with him. I like the idea that his ashes have been sent into space, along with those of Gene Roddenberry and about two dozen others. And that he stood up in his wheelchair when he heard about this!
And, now that he is gone, I want to call attention to the Festschrift -- celebratory remembrances by close colleagues -- that has been issued by Robert Forte!
So long, oh brave, generous spirit! Oh, voyager! May we at least occasionally lumber out onto those brain-steps you first boldly tread! What a cheerleader for change you certainly were!
