I know there’s been a lot of talk about Bill Maher’s latest escapades as of late. But this is not about that.
Bad as Maher has become, at least we don’t still have Christopher Hitchens around, who was arguably even worse, even before his switch to neocon and “Islamofascism”, especially as his attacks on the Clintons, part of which involved him betraying the trust of a friend in a manner just as dispicable as Linda Tripp’s, and refusing to take Mother Teresa into the context of Indian society rather than judging her and her organization by Western standards. (Not that she was a saint, but she was also not the monster Hitchens conjured up.)
Seriously, he never had any original thoughts, just a facile writing style, and he often frequently lied in order to shore up his position, becoming the very figure that religious apologists target when they attack “militant atheists.” The fact that he’d say “Dr. King wasn’t really REALLY a Christian, therefore he can still be considered a good man,” is quite infuriating, same with how he betrayed his friends. Ironic how someone who expounded on the importance of conscience in society never actually had one of his own.
If Hitchens were still alive, it would be even worse than what Maher is currently saying. If anything, his invective would be extremely poisonous and truly divisive.
I am not a believer, in the theistic sense, but I cringe whenever Hitchens is used as representative of my thoughts and beliefs regarding religion. And just as extremism and certain toxic communities must be excised and amputated to survive, so should Hitchens and his particular ilk from atheism.