It’s about 1 o’clock in the morning on Friday, December 16th and I just heard the news that Christopher Hitchens has passed away. As a tenured fan of his work and character I’m genuinely depressed to hear this news, but I can’t say that it comes as a great shock either. Back in June of 2010, Hitchens announced that he had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer; and given his propensity for treating his body more like a brothel than a temple, the outlook seemed pretty grim. While he endured for another year and a half, it was a steady decline. As perhaps one of the most erudite public speakers in generations, he suffered an especially cruel fate when cancer claimed his voice. I can think of nothing more disheartening than having one of your strongest assets stripped away and being forced to press on without it.
Yet, what impression did “Hitch” leave upon the world? Most notable would be his recent outspoken support of the “New Atheism” movement; but he was also wildly successful as an author, journalist, literary critic, orator, humanitarian, and pundit. His was a wit that knew no bounds. Fan and critic alike loved nothing more than whipping him into a trademark frenzy of haughty, sharply worded retorts, with which he would level even his most intellectual opponents.
Personally, one of my favorite events was the public debate, entitled “Is Religion a Force of Good in the World?” held between Hitch and former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair in November of 2010. As he strode out onto the stage, Hitch debuted his newly hairless head as well as a confidence that surprised even me. It is no small feat to accept an invitation to debate the former leader of your nation of birth, but Hitchens didn’t hesitate for one moment before verbally shutting Blair down. Watching the debate was like watching someone’s mind being read. Every time Blair made an argument in religion’s favor, it would somehow play into the logical ambush that Hitch had laid in the early moments of the debate. By the end, not only had Hitchens clearly won, he had convinced Blair that even if his faith hadn’t been misplaced, his argument certainly was. It was a magnificent public defeat of tired principles and dusty logical fallacies.
While it’s easy to get hung up on the brash, visceral element of his spoken word, Hitchens was even more effective with a pen. During his life he worked as a journalist for many prestigious periodicals such as The Atlantic and The Nation, until becoming a Contributing Editor to Vanity Fair in 1992. He authored 18 books, including his best seller “God is Not Great”, and contributed to dozens more as an editor or co-author.
As a humanitarian atheist, Hitch held that the world did not need a supernatural guardian or man-made dogmas in order to do right by one’s fellow man. It was this fervor for the greater good of understanding that often got in the way of Hitchens’ own professional life. On multiple occasions, he was fired from positions because of his unwillingness to bend to his editors’ agendas, and he often landed in hot water with the media for his typically heavy-handed critique of culture. He was a champion of a logic that knew no creed or party and would often cross political and social borders. This was exemplified in his simultaneous criticisms of George W. Bush’s policies and belief that the Iraq War was our nation’s virtuous duty. He would rail against the right, left or any person or party that, in his eyes, was acting on less than ethical principles. He was also never opposed to endorsing figures that he felt were acting in the greater good. His support of Ralph Nader in the 2000 presidential election showed that he was not above the process of politics, just one of its rarest supporters.
In so many ways, what we have lost in the personality of Christopher Hitchens is more than just the man himself. We have lost an irreverent voice of reason, whose place in society is not likely to be matched again in my lifetime. It was a voice that was unburdened by the pressures of politeness; indeed I would guess that Hitch felt there was very little time for anything but frankness in this modern age. He was as important to literary, political and intellectual society as he was entertaining and I will miss his influence greatly.
by Grant Nielsen
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