How Chaminade ‘Factored’ in Bill O’Reilly’s Life

Some people call him a pinhead. Others call him a patriot. simply calls Bill O’Reilly an alumnus.

The Fox News host and class of 1967 member gave an hour-long lecture as part of a fundraiser at his alma mater Thursday night, touching upon “secularism vs. Judeo-Christian philosophy in the media,” the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Westboro Baptist Church funeral protests, his recent appearance on “The View” where he “was just trying to sell my book and get the hell out of there,” and his interview on Super Bowl Sunday with President Barack Obama – whom O’Reilly actually admitted to liking, though doesn’t agree “on his philosophy of governance, I don’t think he sees the big picture and the unintended consequences of what he’s doing.”

The “bold, fresh” guy primarily spoke about his experiences at the all-boys Catholic high school, juxtaposing his upbringing and his education against the public school experiences both of his friends and today’s students.

“It’s so tough to be a kid today, because these influences come one after another, after another, after another,” O’Reilly, a former teacher himself, said. “One of the reasons I help Chaminade out is because this is one of the few places that fights, that stands away and says ‘hold it, no.’ So the poor public school American kid unless he has very very grounded parents at home goes through life going ‘hey, look at Charlie Sheen over there’.”

The Factor host compared his alma mater to Fort Apache, saying it was worthy of support because of what he sees as turbulent cultural storm beyond the walls.

“Just think – could 50 Cent have existed in 1967?” he asked the crowd of about 400. “American kids now are confused. They really don’t know how to live; who’s teaching them how to live? No one if they don’t have good parents. School system’s not teaching them how to live; they’re not teaching them that. There are no rewards for generosity, they’re not teaching them anything – it’s all about them. They create their own world with the little gadgets they have.”

The school has asked him back on numerous occasions, and he gives a talk to the junior class each year. “(Chaminade) gave me a foundation theologically, philosophically and academically,” he said, pointing out that he still goes to Mass every Sunday.

“How many kids do you know that get that foundation today? And what do they think’s going to happen when they get out and compete in this brutally hard world? When I tell people I actually go to church on Sunday, they go ‘really?’ – they don’t know anybody that goes to church every Sunday, and that’s true.”

Not every Flyer is appreciative of the school while they are within the walls of 340 Jackson Avenue, and O’Reilly was no different.

“When I attended here, I didn’t like Chaminade,” he recalled, bemoaning the bus trip to Mineola each weekday from his home in Levittown. “All my friends were in public school. I’m the only one going to Chaminade. When I came here I was really dim, I’m sure you understand that. It’s funny – I was so dumb as a kid I wrote a book about it and it sold a million copies so it worked out in the end.”

Being from the quintessential post-WWII suburb, O’Reilly says he felt there was a disparity between himself and students both from neighboring Garden City and New York, recalling how he picked his two blazers up off the rack at Modell’s on Hempstead Turnpike for $8 and wore a clip-on tie while others donned cashmere coats.

“I was a little tough,” O’Reilly said, noting he eventually joined the Flyer hockey team his junior year. “I held my own here, but it wasn’t easy. I used to tell my father ‘why are you sending me over to this torture chamber over here? You hate me?’ I would torture my father with questions. You’re a rich kid, you’re lucky. I’m glad I wasn’t a rich kid because I worked my butt off to be a rich guy.”

Bemoaning taking Latin to his father, it was actually a Spanish teacher at Chaminade who O’Reilly credits with saving his life while working in war-torn El Salvador for CBS. “Dr. Touse saved my life,” he said recalling how he was able to recall “periosdistas no disparar” or “journalists – don’t shoot.”

Still a Nassau County resident, O’Reilly does find time to take in politics locally in addition to his commentary on the national scene.

“I think its a scandal what the county has done, Nassau County has done, sold you guys out,” he said, referring to the current budget situation and .

As for the 2012 Presidential race, O’Reilly believes it will either come down to a choice on the Republican side of a “hard liner” like Sarah Palin or a moderate who “has to stand for something. It will be interesting who breaks out.”

When asked who he would like to interview who he hasn’t, the answer was two individuals – Pope Benedict XVI and former President Bill Clinton, who O’Reilly said has been avoiding him. “(I) don’t know why. I would like to talk with him about foreign affairs.”