I've long been an admirer of the critic, commentator, and professional raconteur Christopher Hitchens, whose acerbic wit and extreme erudition has done many of us contrarians well over the past few decades. A true maverick in a time when that phrase is being used rather liquidly, Hitchens has written endless books and columns calling out politicians and cultural mavens on their foolishness and crimes, from Henry Kissinger to the Clintons to God Himself. It was Hitchens' willingness to take on both the smuttiness of Bill Clinton and the piousness of Mother Theresa that moved me firmly into his camp - anybody so fearless was a mind to be reckoned with. I have always wholeheartedly agreed with Susan Sontag's pronouncement: "May his targets cower".
Unfortunately, it's been a bit of a rough road for Hitchens over the last eight years, as he dismayed many in the leftist wing by throwing his support behind President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. I may not have agreed with his stance, but I found his writings on the war to be insightful, passionate, thoughtful and intriguing. I'm not sure if I came across any other pieces that so forcefully and convincingly made the case for a war I personally found repugnant. Others were not quite so forgiving, and Hitchens has been persona non grata among certain circles for some time. Too bad for them. The ongoing howls from the GOP machine as conservative thinkers from George Will to Peggy Noonan to Christopher Buckley express reservations about John McCain and (especially) Sarah Palin make clear the limitations of toeing party line and adhering to ideological rigidity. The leftist cause is made stronger by intelligent and thoughtful debate on the ongoing war, both pro and con, not by banishing those who suggest flexibility to the wilderness.
However, I suspect we'll be hearing a slightly different tune from certain quarters as Hitch has recently begun to make clear his appalled opposition to the GOP front runner. Over the last month, he's written a series of disdainful pieces lambasting the final days of the campaign and the GOP choice for vice president. He's echoed the ignored calls for a press conference, highlighted Palin's contempt for science and intellectualism, and called out the campaign for distorting the credentials and world views of Rashid Khalidi.
As we near the end of an extremely long and at times extremely ugly campaign, I admit to taking solace in the fact that thinkers like Hitchens continue to hammer away at our disgraceful excuses for leaders. Witty blog titles aside, I won't welcome Hitchens "back" - he never left. That's what I like about mavericks.
Unfortunately, it's been a bit of a rough road for Hitchens over the last eight years, as he dismayed many in the leftist wing by throwing his support behind President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. I may not have agreed with his stance, but I found his writings on the war to be insightful, passionate, thoughtful and intriguing. I'm not sure if I came across any other pieces that so forcefully and convincingly made the case for a war I personally found repugnant. Others were not quite so forgiving, and Hitchens has been persona non grata among certain circles for some time. Too bad for them. The ongoing howls from the GOP machine as conservative thinkers from George Will to Peggy Noonan to Christopher Buckley express reservations about John McCain and (especially) Sarah Palin make clear the limitations of toeing party line and adhering to ideological rigidity. The leftist cause is made stronger by intelligent and thoughtful debate on the ongoing war, both pro and con, not by banishing those who suggest flexibility to the wilderness.
However, I suspect we'll be hearing a slightly different tune from certain quarters as Hitch has recently begun to make clear his appalled opposition to the GOP front runner. Over the last month, he's written a series of disdainful pieces lambasting the final days of the campaign and the GOP choice for vice president. He's echoed the ignored calls for a press conference, highlighted Palin's contempt for science and intellectualism, and called out the campaign for distorting the credentials and world views of Rashid Khalidi.
As we near the end of an extremely long and at times extremely ugly campaign, I admit to taking solace in the fact that thinkers like Hitchens continue to hammer away at our disgraceful excuses for leaders. Witty blog titles aside, I won't welcome Hitchens "back" - he never left. That's what I like about mavericks.
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1 comment:
Great blog on Hitchens, Jason. I followed your links to to his articles, feeling a little guilty that you had done all the work. All I had to do was click and read rather than go out and dig for articles myself. As Mark Twain tells us, however, guilt doesn't last long. Thanks for following Hitchens for your blog readers.
ms
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