I have not always agreed with everything that Christopher Hitchens has said or stood up for, but I have admired him every since he took a strong stand with Denmark during the Muhammad Cartoon Wars. It was a bold stand for a writer. Although he had taken political stances, he didn’t identify himself with either the right or the left of the political spectrum. Both sides were equally vulnerable to his searing critiques.
Christopher Hitchens had taken on the threat of terrorism perpetrated on the Western world by the muslim world. From my point of view, he seemed to understand the real and present threat that the islamic world is presenting to our way of life and he had the courage to stand up and speak his mind about it. That’s not such an easy thing to do these days. In spite of the numerous terrorists attacks we have endured at the hands of islamic fanatics, our ‘leaders’ seem determined to try to appease them into not attacking us any more. Christopher Hitchens seemed to understand that appeasement was not the answer. He showed his commitment to that during the Muhammad Cartoon Wars.
Hitchens was an Englishman who migrated to the United States in 1980. He settled in Washington, D.C. in 1982 with his first wife, Eleni Meleagrou, and obtained his U.S. citizenship in 2007.
Hitchens and Meleagrou divorced and he married Carol Blue in 1989. He is survived by his wife and their daughter Antonia Hitchens, both of Washington, D.C. He is also survived by his two children from his first marriage, Alexander hitches and Sophia Hitchens. He is also survived by his brother Peter Hitchens, a conservative British columnist with whom he had often publicly debated on issues of politics and religious faith.
The Vanity Fair writer died on Thursday, December 15, 2011 of complications from esophageal cancer. He was a life-long smoker, often photographed with a cigarette between his fingers. He was 62-years-old at the time of his death.
Christopher Hitchens Veteran’s Day reflections.
Read the Vanity Fair op-ed on death written by Christopher Hitchens for their January 2012 edition.
