“Do I fear death? No, I am not afraid of being dead because there’s nothing to be afraid of, I won’t know it. I fear dying, of dying I feel a sense of waste about it and I fear a sordid death, where I am incapacitated or imbecilic at the end which isn’t something to be afraid of, it’s something to be terrified of.”
“The only position that leaves me with no cognitive dissonance is atheism. It is not a creed. Death is certain, replacing both the siren-song of Paradise and the dread of Hell. Life on this earth, with all its mystery and beauty and pain, is then to be lived far more intensely: we stumble and get up, we are sad, confident, insecure, feel loneliness and joy and love. There is nothing more; but I want nothing more.”
“So far, I have decided to take whatever my disease can throw at me, and to stay combative even while taking the measure of my inevitable decline. I repeat, this is no more than what a healthy person has to do in slower motion.”
“Take the risk of thinking for yourself, much more happiness, truth, beauty, and wisdom will come to you that way.”
Christopher Hitchens
April 13, 1949 – December 15, 2011
Even though we all knew it was going to happen, and happen sooner rather than later, Hitchens’s death was devastatingly sad. One of my great pleasures is hearing him speak in any of the dozens of clips of him on YouTube. Not only do I invariabaly agree with what he says, but his use of language is such a joy in itself. He will be greatly missed.
I’m glad that you posted this, Ras. Thank you.
I have been thinking about him off and on since I read the article that I think you linked to in, what?, Vanity Fair?, about his illness and his decline. I couldn’t agree more that it isn’t being dead–the destination–that worries me. It’s the nature of the journey.