Compassionate soul? He was one of the most bitter, vitriolic cynics to grace the airwaves. His was a poisoned soul and eventually the poison overwhelmed him.
I found nothing interesting about him or his meandering travelogues, and I never understood why anyone would pay him to do whatever it was he did.
Watch Bourdain's episode in Nicaragua. He referred several times in passing to the country's poverty and political oppression. About halfway through, eating at a street-side food vendor, Bourdain did so again and pointed to a large residential compound on a hilltop as the source of Nicaragua's troubles. He then named and blasted Daniel Ortega, the billionaire dictator of Nicaragua who lives there.
When a local food critic in small-town America posted a gushing review of a new Olive Garden, she was mercilessly pilloried by sneering foodies. Bourdain though came to her defense and praised Olive Garden. Similarly, his favorite last or first American meal on trips abroad was Popeye's fried chicken. And on an episode in West Virginia, Bourdain referred to the locals with affection despite political differences and wondered if New Yorkers were unfair and narrow-minded and betraying their own supposed belief in diversity in disparaging West Virginia.
I think I know why Bourdain killed himself. He had money and fame but, as he showed again and again in his travels, not just good food was to be found in homes and humble bistros, but also the deeper satisfactions of regular contact with a close circle of family and friends. Making his living though required a brutal travel schedule, leaving Bourdain exhausted and deprived of the rootedness and human connections that we conservatives recognize as essential to genuine human happiness.
All around the world, Bourdain is being mourned. We do not see it easily, but for millions of people in other countries who saw his shows, Bourdain was a friendly American who visited and embraced ordinary locals and their foods and customs. Flawed as he was, Bourdain nevertheless was part of America's cultural power and an example of what Americans are like in our better selves.