Leary’s exchanges with other great minds such as Ram Dass and G. Gordon Liddy are priceless. He seemed to open up to his magical child when confronted and questioned by others. On his own, he was rather incomprehensible. He’s always been known for being a “cheerleader” for change and individualism, but I think his LSD advocacy was en elaborate front for simply sitting around and getting stoned. His “FLASHBACKS” bio-book is wonderful, however it reveals Leary to be somewhat of a wimpering coward…especially when faced with imprisonment. Ken Kesey (for example) had used his imprisonment (for pot possession) as a chance to assert his Self and his Art. Leary simply wrote and asserted (in interviews) peculiar odes to his own psyche.
We must also remember that Leary ratted out many of his radical cohorts (the Weather Underground and Black Panthers, I believe) in order to save his own enlightened butt. Chalk it up to his old “Irish charm” - in truth, he wasn’t as great as many claim. Luckily greater men such as Terence McKenna took the germ of some of Leary’s spiel and expanded and refined it. I do admire Leary’s embracing of artist KEITH HARING. This is one area where Leary was right on and visionary.
