Letters to a Young Contrarian (Art of Mentoring (Paperback))

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I thought trying to solve problems with words was a good thing, but now even that makes the tender-hearted cry and plead for peace and compromise. At once indignant and intellectual in Hitchens' now inimitable style he winds up his advice beautifully by quoting the Hungarian dissident, George Konrad, "Have a lived life instead of a career. As Mill said in Chapter II of On Liberty: “The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it.

He understands the importance of disagreement-to personal integrity, to informed discussion, to true progress-heck, to democracy itself.

It is delicious because it showcases Hitchens at his most savage and wise (he reveals a warm spot for the under-appreciated utopian radicalism of William Morris and his circle). I think often of my late friend Ron Ridenhour, who became briefly famous when, as a service-man in Vietnam, he exposed the evidence of the hideous massacre of the villagers at My Lai in March 1968. Death hath wrought a pernicious dent in the erudite and intellectual world; Hitchens will not be one to be soon forgotten, nor ever replaced (but emulated, definitely). His reflections on literature (specific pieces, or in general), history, travels, and encounters, are absolute treasures. From his attacks on Mother Theresa, Bill Clinton and Henry Kissinger, to his staunch defences of Thomas Jefferson, Tom Paine, and George Orwell, there was a common theme to all of Hitchens work: A hatred of the phony, the crooked, and the cynical, and a love of debate, free speech, inquiry, and doubt.

There are fringe views that deserve to be marginalized, and then there are dissenting views which need to be heeded, or at least considered.

It’s not moral to lie to ignorant, uneducated people and tell them that if they only believe nonsense, they can be saved.

It is curious to see how Hitchens ended up being with Harris, Dawkins and Dennett in one camp, at least in the public imagination.Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. Yes, I'll be reading more Hitch going forward, as 'twere with a defeated joy,/With an auspicious, and a dropping eye,/[…]/In equal scale weighing delight and doleYes, Hamlet's great hypocrite, Claudius spoke those words before me. I myself hope to live long enough to graduate from being a "bad boy" - which I once was - to becoming "a curmudgeon". It's just possible to guess what he would have thought of all of these phenomena, given his prior commitments, but it's impossible to imagine how well he would have phrased it. He was a contributor to Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, World Affairs, The Nation, Slate, Free Inquiry and a variety of other media outlets.