Rest In Peace Christopher Hitchens
Posted: December 20th, 2011 | Author: Dr. Bill Stillwell | No Comments »Over the weekend, we lost one of the great minds of our time,
the writer, Christopher Hitchens. Hitchens died from complications
of the treatment he was receiving for esophogeal cancer.
I first read a Hitchens piece at least a decade ago and maybe
closer to two. He wrote a brilliantly satirical piece about liking
to read a bit of smut, every now and then. I then started to look
for things that he had written I and would make a special effort
to listen, if he was on television, or radio. In those days, Hitchens
was writing for The Nation, a predictable socialist rag, that
became unpredictable when he wrote, because even though he
was a socialist himself, he was never predictable.
Hitchens would part company with his fellow comrades after
9/11, when he became a very staunch defender of the West
and what it stood for. He would often excoriate his opponents
on the page, exposing them as would-be emperors, with no
clothes. He was a damn fine debater, too, and I’m sure you can
find his debate with the British Marxist, George Galloway, on
your personal Google machine. Galloway was no slouch as a
debater himself, but Hitchens exposed him as a liar and charlatan
in those debates about Iraq.
I only agreed with Hitchens’ political positions about 20% of the
time. But I had enormous respect for the arguments he crafted to
support his positions. He was more than extremely well read,
he was almost like a search engine, before there was such a thing.
He also didn’t just confine his writings to politics and he wrote on
topics others had neither the time, or the intellect, to address.
I remember a time when he appeared on MSNBC, for some
election event, and his comments made all the other panelists
squirm and twist in their seats, like kids who wanted to run away.
He had a rapier wit and they didn’t appreciate it being used on
them. While providing commentary on the current political
situation, Hitchens also showed that the other panelists didn’t
know their history, past or present, and that when it came down
to it, they really didn’t know what they were talking about, unless
they were talking among themselves, where everyone agrees
with everyone else.
I never cared whether Hitchens was right or wrong on a subject;
I just wanted to hear what he had to say about it. He always
made you think about a subject from another angle, or in a
different light.
Hitchens had some bad habits, which in the end, probably did
him in. He was a heavy smoker and a man who loved his malt
beverages, more than most. Unfortunately for him, his warning
sign came with a diagnosis of cancer last year and, though he
struggled mightily to beat the disease, the disease finally won out.
I think God (in who, or in which, Hitchens did not believe) had grown
tired of his present staff and needed someone to bounce his ideas
off. I can see them arguing, as they walk through the Great Library
grounds.
Bon Voyage, Christopher. You will be missed.
Come join thousands of highly satisfied customers.
With my best wishes for your optimum health,
Dr. Bill
Favorite Formulas
816 Turtle River Court
Plant City, FL 33567
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