newjerseynewsroom.com

BY MICHAEL HAYNE

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

Christopher Hitchens, the celebrated journalist, public intellectual, outspoken atheist, and Johnny Walker Black aficionado-- a man of varying political complexities but who relentlessly, brutally derided anyone who sought to manipulated or flouted logic and reason--sadly passed away this past Thursday at 62 after suffering from esophageal cancer.

Hitchens, a devout non-believer who penned a book entitled “God is not Great”, bravely and fiercely raised important questions that the Doubting Thomas in us surely had but either lacked the intellectual, perspicacity or gumption to raise them.

Whether you agreed with the man or not meant very little, as Hitchens would still caustically argue (sometimes drunkenly) his viewpoints in spite of trying circumstances. So instead of focusing on many of the mans obvious achievements and well-established beliefs and opinions, I figured the memory of Hitchens would be best served by including a myriad of quotes that wonderfully and unsentimentally encapsulate the life of Hitchens: an unabashed, unwavering, uncompromising, fearless believer in pursing truth and advocating logic and reason in a culture bereft of it. Seriously, the man took on Mother Theresa, by no means an easy and popular task.

Hitch-slaps Sean Hannity:

Sean Hannity is a notorious close-minded, reactionary, know-nothing right-winger who will poorly demonize thinking people for single instances of perceived hostility. So naturally Hitchens wasn’t going to allow him to control the debate when it came to an appearance following the death of horribly ignorant and flagrantly close-minded charlatan Jerry “fallacy” Falwell, a man who thought fictional alien teddy bears were promoting homosexual agenda and that gays were responsible for 9/11.