Waynster

Today would have been Christopher Eric Hitchens 63rd birthday, had he not succumbed to cancer last December. And the sad fact is had he not succumbed I may probably have never  heard of him to be honest. I had been living in the US for just over a year – a country which to be honest was a great catalyst to my own Atheism – when he sadly left this mortal coil. The tributes from the BBC and others ignited a spark of curiosity in this man and upon discovering alone just that he had written a book entitled ‘God is not great’ got me excited. Upon purchasing said book I immediately found a genius whose mastery of the English language,  amazing debating ability and just his outright sense and reason made this man a hero to me, albeit sadly whilst his body lay cold.

I dearly would have loved to have seen the man debate live as he so often and passionately did usually with great success. His utter despise of religion and venomous tongue in denouncing it and all it made him to me a modern day messiah as it were – Christians talk of Jesus being the saviour yet I truly believe this man, though I am sure of his probable hatred of the terminology I use, was I think in this day and age a messiah from the nonsensical, supernatural hogwash which seems to govern so many peoples – many of whom seek office to govern our lives. His writing, his television appearances and his activism all live on thanks to the internet and modern media and whilst my life might be a little bit emptier having not come across this great man during his existance, I am sure he has inspired many – myself absolutely included – to spread the word of Atheism, reason and just the ideals of questioning everything.

Hitch, you were a great man and very much missed – but I will celebrate you today, not mourn -this life as you so well and so often said, is the only one we have. Cheers!
And in case you really want to know just what we are all missing today, here is 15 minutes of the great man doing what he did best – enjoy!

The Best of Hitchslap