It's a rare day indeed when I find myself wanting to high-five Christopher Hitchens. I tend to get sucked into his Slate column every now and then and find myself unable to finish it as I click away, muttering to myself.
Today, however, his column is about Jerry Falwell and it's fantastic. Sassy, yet lucid (perhaps because he's not writing about the Iraq war). He refers to Falwell's "carcass" in the lede, so right off you know it's going to be good. He later refers to his "sausage-sized fingers." Sadly, he does not probe how the man's head looked like a nutsack...
Oh, and the content of the column is actually quite good as well. It's very much in the vein of Old Hitch's new book (so far as I can tell), and while I do not consider myself an atheist, I find I agree with Mr. Saucy's point of view after reading this and catching his chest hair-revealing Daily Show appearance. I definitely think that it's a crock that a person with "Rev." before their name gets some kind of credibility without first having to pass some kind of nutjob litmus test.
Anyway, well played by Hitchens. Ranks up there with his Vanity Fair piece on James Joyce, in my book.
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2 comments:
from Joel Achenbach's href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/achenblog">achenblog:
I stand in awe of the brain and tongue of Christopher Hitchens -- of his rambunctious genius, his loquacity, the eloquence of his multi-syllabicism, and what might more generally be described as his -- you know -- way with words. But perhaps he uses a bazooka when a peashooter would be more appropriate. Conviction is a virtue, and a willingness to take a stand, but so is a generosity of spirit. Good manners. Civility. Let's now listen to him on CNN, hours after the death of Jerry Falwell:
COOPER: Author and outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens is about as far from Jerry Falwell in his beliefs as one could get. Christian fundamentalists are a major target of his new book, "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything." He joins me now from Raleigh, North Carolina. Christopher, I'm not sure if you believe in heaven, but, if you do, do you think Jerry Falwell is in it?
CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "VANITY FAIR": No. And I think it's a pity there isn't a hell for him to go to.
COOPER: What is it about him that brings up such vitriol?
HITCHENS: The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing, that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called reverend. Who would, even at your network, have invited on such a little toad to tell us that the attacks of September the 11th were the result of our sinfulness and were God's punishment if they hadn't got some kind of clerical qualification?
People like that should be out in the street, shouting and hollering with a cardboard sign and selling pencils from a cup. The whole consideration of this -- of this horrible little person is offensive to very, very many of us who have some regard for truth and for morality, and who think that ethics do not require that lies be told to children by evil old men, that we're -- we're not told that people who believe like Falwell will be snatched up into heaven, where I'm glad to see he skipped the rapture, just found on the floor of his office, while the rest of us go to hell.
How dare they talk to children like this? How dare they raise money from credulous people on their huckster-like (INAUDIBLE) radio stations, and fly around in private jets, as he did, giggling and sniggering all the time at what he was getting away with?
Do you get an idea now of what I mean to say?
COOPER: Yes, no, I think -- I think you're making yourself very clear.
hmm... that anchor didn't work as well as i'd expected...
try this...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/achenblog
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