Christopher Hitchens Sui Generis
Calling Christopher Hitchens “one of the most dynamic voices of our generation“, Sonicfrog laments the passing of this iconoclastic columnist:
With the exception of being an ardent atheist, he was impossible to pin down and categorize as belonging to any one political movement or ideology. He truly called them as he saw them. Without question, he truly was his own man. He burned as bright as anyone I can recall in my lifetime, and now the flame is no more. I can’t say I always agreed with him, but he was one HELL of a writer, and I am a better writer because of his influence!
The man always spoken his mind and while leaning to the left, never really subscribed to any ideology. Just look him stand up to Bill Maher:
Joy McCann called him a “man was made of class“:
This amazing writer was fearless. And smart. And from what I could see, a good, decent man who stared death in the face and remained just as decent as he had been before, albeit in much more pain.
Goodbye, Mr. H. You will be sorely, sorely missed.
Indeed. In this increasingly ideological age, we need more of his kind.
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RIP, Hitch.
Worth a read: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/286023/jonah-remembers-christopher-hitchens-nro-staff
Comment by SoCalRobert — December 16, 2011 @ 6:23 pm - December 16, 2011
Sad.
I read his July 2006 article “As American as Apple Pie” this morning in his honor.
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2006/07/hitchens200607
Comment by Bill — December 16, 2011 @ 7:16 pm - December 16, 2011
As leftists go, Hitch was the best. I considered myself a fan. He was often wrong, but sometimes right too, and rarely insane. He always had a moral thought process going (even if misguided) and tried both to argue from facts, and face up to facts. Wish I could say the same, for more leftists!
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — December 16, 2011 @ 7:52 pm - December 16, 2011
Hitchens had no anchor.
It is not especially notable to be hooked to a sea anchor in drifting currents. You awake in the morning, use the long established instruments to ascertain your true position and then set out from there.
Hitchens had zero investment in the learning from Roman Catholic evolution, investigation and development. So, as a Johnny-come-lately he smugly attacked them for their weaknesses during their discovery phase.
In that respect, he was identical to Maher or Stewart or any other cheap shot Monday morning quarterback commentator.
No doubt that Hitchens was clever and bright. But he was determined to be an atheist to be a realist in the face of all faith and belief. In this respect he was as impatient as Maher, Stewart of Letterman.
Hitchen’s middle finger salute to Maher’s groupies was not a lick different from his giving a middle finger salute to Mother Teresa’s followers, except that he was too refined to flick off Mother Teresa or her followers.
Sometimes, the bon vivant, intellectual sycophant needs to assess the reality of the common hemorrhoid. The fault, dear Hitchens, lies not in the stars, but within ourselves. (To cop a phrase.)
RIP, Christopher Hitchens, even though you were certain that now you are a feast for worms.
I hope to meet you in the hereafter and laugh at your timidity.
Comment by Heliotrope — December 16, 2011 @ 8:55 pm - December 16, 2011
I couldn’t agree more. It is refreshing in the tedium of politics to see someone who rejects ideological labels. And especially if that person manages to remain consistent in their beliefs. However, I am not familiar with Christopher Hitchens, so I wouldn’t know if he was consistent.
Comment by Naamloos — December 16, 2011 @ 9:56 pm - December 16, 2011
He kept writing to the end: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/opinion/christopher-hitchens-consummate-writer-brilliant-friend.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — December 17, 2011 @ 1:10 pm - December 17, 2011
The main issue I had with Hitchens was that fundamentally he was a leftist. He had the integrity to stand up for the U.S. and the West in general after the terrorist attacks. And I agreed with him about the moral destruction religion has brought to the world. Particularly with Islam. But he couldn’t make that jump to permanently separate himself from from the leftist framework. He will be missed. I enjoyed reading his work.
Comment by Scherie — December 17, 2011 @ 3:14 pm - December 17, 2011
Via Instapundit/PJM, classic Hitch: http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2011/12/16/christopher-hitchens-at-his-best/
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — December 18, 2011 @ 8:04 pm - December 18, 2011
Objectivists remember Hitchens as, while not exactly their friend, also no enemy: http://www.atlassociety.org/christopher-hitchens-remembered
Comment by ILoveCapitalism — December 19, 2011 @ 3:38 pm - December 19, 2011
I loved Hitchens, but of course his enduring support for the Iraq war is inexplicable to me. I think it was a few things with him, mostly that he didn’t like the idea of admitting that he was wrong. He did enjoy being the contrarian and I suppose I see the reasoning behind his absolute moral position that Saddam had to go. He did cleverly expand his audience by supporting the war and occasionally defending Bush, as he did in the posted video. More than anything, I think he was driven by a desire to not be pigeonholed.
Of course, had he not supported the war, Hitchens would have been universally loathed by the right. It’s ironic that one of the only ways to get Republicans to like you in this day and age is to support the stupidest foreign policy decision in the history of the country, especially someone who was clearly as smart as Christopher.
Comment by Levi — December 20, 2011 @ 6:32 pm - December 20, 2011