Death has finally come for Christopher Hitchens, as it does for us all. He succumbed to esophageal cancer yesterday at the age of 62. I'd normally be writing Bonus Bananas today, but I feel like it would be disrespectful to ignore the passing of a writer who has had a profound influence on me.
You might be surprised how often I run into young Americans here in Paris. They're often visiting, though some are here permanently for school or other reasons. I always make it a point to engage them in conversation, probably out of my own bit of homesickness more than anything else. But the fact that I'm an American writer living in Paris always comes up and, as cliché as that might be, they almost always ask me for advice on how to make it as a writer. My advice is always the same: First live, then write.
Christopher Hitchens was the embodiment of this philosophy. While he is probably best known to the general public as a somewhat antagonistic atheist, he was actually an accomplished journalist and historian. His life was an open book, he was unapologetic about his drug and alcohol use, and he was in rare form till the very end - skewering Rick Perry in a piece published less than three weeks ago.
We've lost a true rapier wit with the death of Hitchens, and even those who vehemently disagreed with him had to admit that he was perhaps the most skilled debater of our time. His knack for profaning the sacred was a gift to us all, because little is more important to the development of humanity than challenging the way we think.
He was an inspiration to me as a writer because he was so damn good at it. I grew up in the 70's and 80's, and it was a time when you really had to pick a side - you were either with the establishment, or you were with the radicals. Writers like Hitch and Hunter Thompson made it an easy choice. His ability to destroy established beliefs through reason and evidence and his acerbic wit meant there was never a dull moment when Hitch weighed in on an argument. He made the pompous look stupid, and I loved him for it.
It's easy for some to hate a guy like Hitch, because he openly assailed so much that so many hold dear. But I think the intellectually honest among us can appreciate what he brought to the table regardless of whether they agreed with everything he had to say. He was nothing if not thought provoking, and it's my goal in life to capture some small piece of that in my own writing.
I'll leave you with the excellent tribute video that Vanity Fair produced to honor his life (I still get a chuckle every time I hear him describe Mother Theresa as "a thieving Albanian dwarf").
And while I'm sure Hitch would disapprove of the waste, I'll be pouring one out for him a little early today.
Have a great weekend, guys.
Christopher Hitchens= Intellectual Badass.
This is way too soon but here goes: I was reading an article about the costs of the Iraq War just 10 minutes before seeing this and I was thinking about how badly the Neocons screwed us over. Hitchens may have been a great writer, but I despise much of what he stood for. His unabashed support for the Iraq War and violent rejection of religion are to me the hallmarks of a certain paucity of mind and extreme pretentiousness. May he rest in peace, but you won't see me pour one out for him.
I never understood his support for the Iraq War either. I certainly didn't agree with everything he said, but he was one of the best writers of my time and he was always amusing.
As far as his pretension, you're definitely on to something. I just think he was always able to out-pompous the pompous, to out-smug the smug. That's what I really loved about him.
Hitchens was a very smart guy and entertaining even when I didn't agree. I've never liked his attack on Mother Theresa but whatever, I still laughed at his characterization. Few people stuck it to the man like he did...even if it was just for the sake of doing it.
I'll take a stab at this: the public justification for the war was the problem. We didn't go in because Saddam and Bin Laden were sleepng together, we went in because Iraq is a secular country and a perfect foothold / starting point to begin reforming MENA. If it had been Iran, UAE, Saudi Arabia, or Pakistan, it would have been a interpreted as a war on Islam. The Afghanistan campaign was an easy sell to everyone involved, but actually setting up shop in Iraq is a long term, macro geostrategic chess move. Iraq was also trying to start trading oil on the Euro...this is a big no-no. Moving American troops into Iraq was the figurative Queen to center of board type move where the positioning is just really good from a lot of perspectives and a lot of reasons.I'm not exactly sure where I stand on the 2003 Iraq thing, but that's the primary source of objection from centrists (you know, people that think for themselves): the reasons we went and the the public marketing were totally disconnected. A lot of public intellectuals understood this and so backed it up.
Maybe this helps?
Fair enough, my "eulogy" is pretty smug on my part as well.
He was definitely one of the best orators and debaters in recent history. Maybe more than any other writer or speaker, Hitchens epitomized "substance and style."
His debates with Dinesh D'Souza were a personal highlight for me. I'm against his worldview, but he challenged the way we think, which doesn't happen nearly as often as it should. However, he could have done it more respectfully and with more class. No pouring out for me either, but RIP all the same.
So sad today. We've lost one of the greats. Nice write-up, EB.
I'm squarely in the camp that diasgreed with him on many things, but respected the hell out of him. Whenever I saw Hitchens had written an article, I HAD to read it. It could be about a random writer or statemsan I'd never heard of, didn't matter. I wish the writers I agree with would back their shit up the way he did.
I'm not a "neo-con" but he laid out some of the best defenses, if not for the Iraq War itself, at least something to think about against the anti-war conventional wisdom. I also disagreed on religion but there's enough irrelevant talk around here already.
RIP
Great Post Eddie. His articles were some of the best written pieces I've ever seen, especially compared to some of the other shit out there.
+1
+1 for Hitchens. Like many that commented here, he was one of my favorites as well. RIP
+1
"Take the risk of thinking for yourself, much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way."
I cant begin to tell how much i loved Hitchens. This guy was maybe the only bad ass in journalism. Never afraid to speak his mind and defend what he believed in till the end. He could make you eat your own words and eviscerate you while still being witty and utterly hilarious. Pragmatic. rational and charming all at the same time. And did I mention his undying affinity for whiskey? His pieces in vanity fair were truly funny, insightful and amusing. His plethora of work covered everything from serious, philosophical, religious and totally bizarre topics! Sure, he was controversial and chauvinistic but isn't that what a personality is? Hitchen's you were truly one of a kind and I will miss listening/reading you. Here's to you sir, a life well lived.
SALUTE.
Hilarious comment on Twitter just now:
"By now Hitchens probably has God doubting His own existence."
Nice write-up Eddie B.
While I stridently disagreed with Hitchens on the Iraq War, at least he laid out the best groundwork for it of anyone. And he was on the right side of the torture and indefinite detention debates. I generally don't support his brand of in your face atheism (it's usually counterproductive), but he had so mastered the art of debate and persuasion that he helped legitimize the argument, even in the minds of believers. It's sad that a man with such a unique world view is now gone.
Great tribute Eddie.
agree with your comment
What i will miss most is his non-conforming, middle finger giving, pissing people off attitude that no one can rival.
Here's the best of hitchslap:
While I may have disagreed on many of his thesis on religion and its purpose in the human sphere of things. There are many whether openly, willingly or not, i had to agree with cause the shit just made sense. With that said, I 'm a pour one quart for this homey cause he gave it raw and uncut, like the friendly neighbourhood dealer.
"By now Hitchens probably has God doubting His own existence."And that my dear fellow monkeys is a rare trait many of us either deny, suppress or are just not born with. Here's a man after my own heart who just doesnt give a rat's ass about what you or anybody else thinked about him. So long as he can discuss it with you, whether you agreed with him or not wasn't him business. I absolutely loved his writings, and every piece he wrote, some of which i"m still trying to catch up on. I remember dropping every other article I've bookmarked to read just to read his, where ever and whatever it was. Dude is a pure literary genius with a flare for taking the common sense out of the arcane and mistranslated. Hitch, i'm a miss you baby, and just like dude on twitter said, :
Absolutely epic quote from the above video. Excellent life philosophy:
"I know what's coming. I know no one beats these odds and it's a matter of getting used to that and growing up and realizing that you're expelled from your mother's uterus as if shot from a cannon towards a barn door studded with old nail files and rusty hooks. It's a matter of how you use up the intervening time in an intelligent and ironic way, and try not to do anything nasty to your fellow creatures. "
^ Great quote from a great man. RIP, Hitch. :'(
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