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Hitchens was an elitist. There is a video on YouTube in which Sean Hannity debates Hitchens over God’s existence. Hitchens makes one of his typical, snarky points, causing Hannity to accuse him of “intellectual snobbyness.” Hitchens only replies, “that could well be right.” Hitchens never sacrificed an argument to be modest. So when his opponents (for some reason mostly conservatives) accused him of being elitist, snobby or arrogant, he would happily assert his guilt.
Another aspect that made Hitchens so unique and exciting was his willingness to hate people without the sense of shame that commonly accompanies the emotion. Hitchens showed his readers that it is alright to hate someone for the right reason. He hated totalitarians, murderers, liars, thieves and charlatans. If he connected someone to one or more of these traits he hated them, too. But more importantly, he was constructive with his hatred. He would write books, participate in interviews and debates, and even confront them in person if given the chance.
This is not to say that Hitchens didn’t have friends of opposing views. He co-wrote a book and participated in a documentary with Pastor Douglas Wilson. While both men were aggressive and witty in their debates, they were also able to quote P.G. Wodehouse to each other and laugh a bit.
Hitchens was also loyal to his friends, even to the extent that he defended fellow author Salman Rushdie, while letting him hide at his apartment, after Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against him in 1989 when Rushdie penned “The Satanic Verses.” Hitchens’ closest friends — including Martin Amis, Ian McEwan and Stephen Fry — consistently marveled at not only his rhetorical brilliance, but his constitution.
Hitchens frequently drank, and he drank a lot. However, spirits seem to have spurred his intellect rather than dampen it; his friends have consistently asserted that they have seen him soundly debating pundits on TV in the same suit he was wearing at a bar the previous night.
Hitchens didn’t believe in God. In fact, he took it a step further in asserting that he was relieved that there was no evidence for God’s existence. Yet the Hitch has still attempted immortality. During his fight with esophageal cancer, which started in 2010 and ended on Dec. 15, 2011, Hitchens donated his body to scientific research. Even though Hitchens is no longer alive, he will live through his children, vast contributions to literature and his generous donation to the field of science.
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A version of this article appeared in the Jan 18 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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I think you meant "immortality" rather than "immorality" in the last paragraph. I'm sure some people might think it's immoral to donate your body to be used for scientific research, but Hitchens was likely not one of those.
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I do this every time. You would have thought I had developed editing skills by now! Immortality is correct. Thanks for the essential clarification.
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I do this every time. You think I would have decent editing skills by now! Immortality is what I meant to type. Thanks for the essential clarification.
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I do this every time. You think I would have decent editing skills by now! Immortality is what I meant to type. Thanks for the essential clarification.
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Overall I have to praise your tribute to Hitchens, but I think you miss the mark here:
"Hitchens didn’t propose economic platforms, give specific details on how to help democracy flourish in the Middle East or propose ideas to further secularize government."
Hitchens was an outspoken socialist, and active member in the British Labor Party during the 60s and 70s. While he enjoyed debating lofty ideas, he did participate actively in the political process. A more exhaustive account of these activities is found in his memoirs. In later years, he focused on the topic of religion, and proposed, among other things, that churches and other religious establishments be revoked their tax-exempt status.
Also, the words "atheism" or "atheist" don't come up once in your article. I'm not accusing you of hiding the fact, but Hitchens made an effort to embrace the "a-word" and I think you erred slightly in not making it more explicit.
Although I have my objections, it is great to see this in the CT. Nicely done.
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It always seemed a glaring inconsistency in his character that he never agitated for an independent, fully funded and fully empowered 911 investigation, especially when WTC crime scene evidence was illegally removed and criminally destroyed.
With the recent announcement that his additional work will be published posthumously with Septemeber release (the 11th?), I suspect he will reveal that he was playing lifesaving ketman for most of the last ten years of his purposely fraudulent professional career, building a fame and following using gross grandstanding that guaranteed wide readership of his upcoming post-mortem release.
I predict he influences the November election.
Good for us.
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