On this day 2 years ago I cried. It was the 2nd time that I can remember crying over the death of someone that I didn’t know. The first was George Harrison.
Christopher Hitchens passed away from complications due to esophageal cancer, the very same fate that his father had suffered.
I can’t say why I cried when George Harrison died, but I did. I can say why I cried when Christopher Hitchens died. I cried because we lost one of the greatest communicators ever. We lost a tireless fighter who always fought against the unjust, unthinking, and unsure. We lost one of the greatest debaters ever. We lost someone with unending wit and humor.
While he was extraordinary at convincing people what to think, he did more than that for me. He taught me how to think. He taught me that it was critical to examine everything carefully; to filter every source of information. He taught me to never be satisfied with less, ever. He taught me.
Because of Hitchens, and later a few others, I am an athiest, a contrarian, an avid reader, and politically informed. I’m a better father, husband and citizen because of him.
I don’t believe in heros, but if I did, Hitchens would be one of mine.
Christopher Eric Hitchens
b. 13 April 1949
d. 15 December 2011
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