Christopher Hitchens: truth-teller and patriot 1949-2011

We had the same hero—George Orwell. He wrote a magnificent book called, “Why Orwell Matters”. I named this blog American Orwell. We had the same friend, Salman Rushdie. When the fatwa went out on Rushdie, Chris defied the Ayatollahs on behalf of him, a very dangerous position then. I was only someone who Salman would visit in my London office when he got bored with his advertising assignments. He could speak eloquently on literature, politics and history. You can see why I admired Hitchens. He went to the barricades for the Kurds and called out frauds like Mother Teresa, Henry Kissinger and Bill Clinton. Meanwhile, I was in the nearest piano bar. I drank and smoked like Hitchens once upon a time until one night, after I drank too many martinis, my gall bladder erupted and I had to be carried to the nearest hospital emergency ward. That was the end of my bacchanal days at age 32. I also stopped smoking. One of Orwell’s “hard truths” is that we are all forgotten after one generation, and after two, no one will ever know we had been alive. On that point I disagree. People will be reading Christopher Hitchens for many generations to come.