Thomas Paine - Christopher Hitchens Lecture (Full)
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'Thomas Paine's Rights of Man: A Biography'
by Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens, the #1 New York Times best-selling author of God Is Not Great has been called a Tom Paine for our times, and in this addition to the Books that Changed the World Series, he vividly introduces Paine and his Declaration of the Rights of Man, the world's foremost defense of democracy. Inspired by his outrage at Edmund Burke's attack on the French Revolution, Paine's text is a passionate defense of man's inalienable rights, and the key to his reputation. Ever since the day of publication in 1791, Declaration of the Rights of Man has been celebrated, criticized, maligned, suppressed, and co-opted, but in Thomas Paine's Rights of Man, Hitchens marvels at its forethought and revels in its contentiousness. Famous as a polemicist and provocative commentator, Hitchens is a political descendent of the great pamphleteer. In this engaging work he demonstrates how Thomas Paine's book forms the philosophical cornerstone of the United States of America, and how "in a time when both rights and reason are under attack, the life and writing of Thomas Paine will always be part of the arsenal on which we shall need to depend." Christopher Hitchens is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and a visiting professor in liberal studies at the New School in New York. His books include Why Orwell Matters, Thomas Jefferson: Author of America, and God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
"The world is my country, the mind is my church, and to do good is my religion." - Thomas Paine
Terence Francis More, he was a Human Being.
"Independence is my happiness, and I view things as they are, without regard to place or person; my country is the world, and my religion is to do good", is the precise quote I believe (from the second part of the Rights of Man), with the "my mind is my own church" part being sourced in The Age of Reason. Hitchens conjoins them.
Steel MEGA nonsense
Steel MEGA how eloquent
@uncletigger how so?
"My own mind is my church, the world is my country, to do good is my religion"
ok fanriffic T. Paine was a deist. He believed in a Creator but didn't believe he intervened in human affairs and so we had to look to one another.
Sounds like a Dalai Lama quote 😊
@@greenspringvalley He was Deiest like most of the Founding Fathers.
greenspringvalley many of the forefathers were Deists including Jefferson.
@@roboparks if he had learned about DNA and the theory of evolution he would have morphed into an atheist.
I swear, just watching Hitchens' videos has taught me a lot about the English language. One of the most erudite, passionate and eloquent figures of the contemporary world. RIP Christopher Hitchens.
@Jazzkeyboardist1 zzzzzzzzzzzzz
For sure, and you should listen to or read Salman Rushdie, whom Christopher revered as one of the greatest commanders of the english language!
@Karl Lentz Hell is a widely utilized fictional concept, so its properties are more or less a matter for the author of the artistic project to determine. I will cite AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell' as an example of a work of art which puts the fictional concept of 'Hell' in a positive light... in spite of the moronic belief Christians have that HELL IS REAL AND WORTHY OF FEAR.... Grow up.
Haha, put the thesaurus away! 😂
@CourtofRecord Is there hell, no.
Oh how I wish, as a school-boy, I could have been taught history by Christopher Hitchens.
@@petertortora6016 because if you're taught when younger your life might have changed a great deal. Sometimes, especially after a certain age, it's not as likely to change. With maturation you will learn that sometimes you lament due to regrets.
It's a shame that he passed away so young, christopher hitchens will be remembered for centuries. One can only hope that we will see an activist of his caliber in the upcoming generation. I will tell my children about him, he is my personal hero.
Gavin Stine Agreed. Have you heard of Douglas Murray? If not, check him out. Of course noone could ever 'replace' someone like Mr Hitchens, but I feel perhaps Mr Murray may be a good candidate to carry the torch on...
Dejavaux Yes. Definitely carrying the torch. Hitchens wrote a positive review of a book that Murray published at an intimidatingly young age - possibly while still at university. There's the odd (unconscious) Hitchens turn of phrase in Douglas Murray and like Hitchens he has argued on the same side in debates with Ayaan Hirsi Ali.
Jeremy Malies How wonderful, I didn't know that about Hitch/Murray. I will be having the utmost pleasure to be in the company of both Douglas and Ayaan at the BAM Venue in Brooklyn, NY for a discussion entitled 'Islamophobia' in a couple of days.
Gavin Stine At the risk of mirroring religion, Amen to that!
Gavin Stine At the risk of mirroring religion, Amen to that!
37:10 is a classic Hitchslap. The day he died, I had a cigarette and a glass of Johnnie Walker Black. There'll never be another man with his combination of erudition, wit, and fearlessness. I'm so grateful for his liberation of my mind.
The world could use this man, especially these days. And Thomas Paine too.
I see what you did there... and I agree.
He would destroy the current rash of right wing pundit's - Peterson springs to mind (imagine the 'Hitch-slap' potential) and the 'young pretender' Murray. A public and nuanced conversation between Hitch and Murray would have been very entertaining. I say this in recognition of their friendship but am sure Hitch would have taught Murray to 'mind the gaps' in much of his rhetoric.
A great man, sadly missed, a great moralist and humanitarian, proud to celebrate the beauty of the English language in his intelligence and articulacy, and proud to stand up for the principles of free speech and democracy in an age of cowardly apologists for demagoguery.
You could be talking about either Hitchens or Paine.
@uncletigger the student failed to achieve the level of the teacher.
Nik Nicholson =
uncletigger It reflects quite poorly on you to base your opinion (which you expressed terribly by the way) of this great man on his support of a war, while ignoring the numerous contributions he otherwise made. Many of his biggest fans agreed he was wrong on Iraq, but that didn’t reduce them online slander. I suggest you read his work more thoroughly. More often than not people like you who eight years after his passing can’t help but vent online are religious fanatics. It wouldn’t surprise me if you are one.
@@stza16 Aw, you stole my line.
It always makes me sad to know Paine died an ostracized man. Reportedly only 6 people attended his funeral, mainly because of the negative reception of his last work, “The Age of Reason.” It’s hard to fathom how quickly the Father of the American Revolution was denounced by the very nation that he had so inspired.
The mob is fickle....
Because religion destroys anything factual. One can't have the ability to reason and accept that having "faith" in anything without a modicum of evidence is foolish, and still believe in Santa Clause, um, I mean the evangelical concept of God.
Paine was every bit a patriot, but was hated because he shone a light into dark corners and exposed the kind of "vermin" that will eat away at democracy. He showed us how many conventional beliefs and policies, though long-held and generally accepted, are just not fair or right.
“The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.”
― H.L. Mencken
There is no lack of figures that follow in a way this exact path, think even people like Thomas Sowell.
That and he shit talked the fuck out of George Washington after Washington failed to support the French Revolution and didn't do shit when Paine was about to get executed.
"And when President George Washington didn’t act aggressively enough to try to get him released from his French dungeon, Paine further offended Americans by writing a lengthy (64-page) public letter to Washington berating the Father of their Country for his “deceit,” “ingratitude,” “hypocrisy,” “meanness,” “vanity,” “perfidy,” and “pusillanimity,” among other character qualities. Americans had won their independence through no thanks to General Washington, Paine informed the president, for you “slept away your time in the field till the finances of the country were completely exhausted,” and deserve “but little share in the glory of the final event.” “And as to you, sir,” Paine concluded, “treacherous in private friendship . . . and a hypocrite in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide, whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any?”
Having denounced both Jesus and George Washington, Paine was now heartily despised by most Americans, to the degree that they remembered him at all. He eventually returned to the United States in the early 1800s-he had nowhere else to go-and eventually settled on a modest farm in New Rochelle, New York. There he lived in relative obscurity until his death in 1809. Most Americans now viewed him as a scoundrel and a self-promoter who turned on those who failed to support him. The author of the most popular political tract ever written in American history was laid to rest with no fanfare, and little mourning."
With his corpse dug up mutilated and pieces strewn about not to be found.
I HAVE THOMAS PAINE'S QUOTE ON MY WALL AT HOME - HE IS MY HERO AND ONE OF MY FAVOURITE PLACES IS LEWES IN THE UK WHERE HE USED TO LIVE.
Hitchens discussing Paine... Excellent!
The Rugged Pyrrhu
It makes so much sense that Paine was one of Hitchens' idols. Great lecture!
I'm in love....... with both of these good men.
I _really_ hope you did some air guitar after typing that.
This is classic Hitch at his best, Christopher's astonishing breadth of expertise on such a varied and meaningful array of subjects is simply awe inspiring imo. I can hear and feel that Hitch was completely in is element on this day and used his posh voice and vocabulary to It's full affect, especially when passing out his trademark Hitch Slaps which he always delivered with his unfailing wit and wisdom. We miss you Hitch, thanks for all the good you've brought to the treacherous world of the internet.
I can honestly say that after watching this for the past hour, I will 'never' forget what Thomas Paine looked like.
As long as you took something with you 😁
yea I listened for hours, just to memorize his hair style...
Don't ya love that nose?
Christopher remained faithful to his view that GOD was an invention of man. The lie's the religious would use to
undermine Christopher are very typical of these sad people.
I am one who still finds his death terribly sad. I miss his voice, his insight and his rationality.
Not difficult for people who create a whole imaginary world to make a few more lies to bolster their case
It is not only you who miss him dearly...
YES WE KNOW GOD IS AN INVENTION BUT - HE IS A LOVELY ONE, A REDEEMING ONE WHEN ONE NEEDS BOTH.
Yea genius where did he go? Ugh?
I’m glad he’s gone and that he went the way he did.
Thomas Paine is my favourite founding father. Sad that he didn't get a lot of credit.
Quite agree
He was a very loud critic of slavery, which didn't endear him to the Virginians.
Because he was against slavery point blank.!!!!
Wasn’t he an insignificant founding father and had nothing to do with the drafting of the United States of America signature declaration
@@rudysims7386 I think it was more than that but yeah
If I were in the audience at one of Christopher Hitchens's talks, they I wouldn't allow me to stay there very long, because I'd be applauding and shouting enthusistically every time he'd make a point. So sad that he is no longer with us. So good that he left such a rich intellectual legacy.RIP Christopher.
Thomas Paine is ignored for his.
The rights of man. No longer taught in school or read . Instead the USA lost it's moral integrity,it's sense of Justice .
Everyone is given a brain, but it takes a lifetime to develop a mind. Hitch had one of the best I have ever known in my lifetime. Sadly missed.
The views on this pod cast keeps piling up past 120,000 now. The "Hitch" won't be forgotten for a long long time. His message of humanism will not die off but keep growing.
Miss You Christopher Hitchens... Thinking of your family and friends
36:54 oh, it's just artful how he scoops up the religious bullshit and serves it back on a hot platter full of sizzling facts hot steamy logical conclusions. Bravo hitch, you're the god-damned best.
love ur handle
"Suspiciously terse"....... Love it! That will never get old.
he really overused that intro though.
alexreising85 I think Hitchens was like a standup comic, often reciting lines to keep himself in rhythm. His cadence exposed his discipline as an orator.
That's a pretty HAM-fisted attempt at trolling,you hear the 'same old stuff'because people keep asking the same old fucking questions,do you expect his answers to be different every time ? also,you have the advantage of perusing almost everything he's done over the last thirty years,you've probably only heard him on YT or you'd never have heard him at all
Holy_Hand_Grenade-of-Antioch He used it pretty much everytime Peter made his introduction. Because Peter always gave a terse introduction. And Christopher always knew that he would. Much in line with Peter's, "Thank you very much for *my* patience," remark.
Miss you, buddy. Comrades across time.
p.s.- fantastic portrait of Paine. You can feel his heart beating.
a Linguistic Salamander that can ascend the branch of any ideology with the sharpest wit, and acerbic retorts that make his opponents eyes water... when will we ever see such a Man again... RIP +
THE CRISIS - These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot, will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny like Hell is not easily conquered;yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.....One of the greatest opening paragraphs in any book ever written by man....Thomas Paine
I hereby declare Christopher Hitchens to be my Hero! throughout his books, discourses, Hitch-Slaps, and debates has provided me with more consolation, Wit and knowledge than did any fucking Church, Priest, or religious Nut. Long live the brilliance of this incomparable demagogue and Polymath, his thoughts provoking ideas will continue to enthrall generations for hundred and hundred of years, and his echo will never die. Long Live the voice of my Hero!
I've heard Hitchen's name all over before, but just listening to this, he is AWESOME!
As a Tory, a papist, and a Medievalist, I think both Paine and Hitchens were morally driven, intellegent and motivated, charismatic men.
blablabubles So were Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao Tse-Tung, and Stalin.
+tigerlilly66
What? Hitler, Pol Pot, Mao Tse-Tung, and Stalin were "morally driven" were they? What "morals" would they be, exactly?
+luckyharry1000
Ha, no, more in the sense that I admire the world view held by those in medieval Christendom; their attempt to unify all areas of life under one intellectual and moral scheme and their knowledge that religion was the foundation of all culture and that culture, insofar has it turned people toward The Good, The True and The Beautiful, The Virtuous Life, is the foundation and criterion for any just political order.
blablabubles WHAT? Medieval Christendom turned people towards The Good, The True and The Beautiful, The Virtuous Life, did it? Hahaha! Tell that to all the WITCHES burned at the stake! Hahaha!
Un-fucking-believable.
+terrypussypower So the actions of a few misguided Christians wrong in every regard, make the entire faith and everyone who believes it null and void? really? by the standard, then you are no doubt a moronic non thinking self-centered fool because many of your atheist brethren are. You okay with that? surely you can do better than the old guilt-by-association ploy.
Always good to come across some Hitchens audio that's new to me. Particularly when he's talking about another one of my hero's Thomas Paine.
At 32:08 he mentions a book and it's difficult to hear.
If anyone is interested in the book's name it's called: "The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution By C.L.R. James."
+MrEstrax thank you!
thanks!
Thank you.
What was the first book he mentions on here?
I'll go back and find it
@@danielkohen1777 3:14
Hitch is badass...But he was dead wrong about us going into Iraq after 911. That was one of the biggest self inflicted wounds my country has carried out since I've been alive and I don't think there are many people alive in Iraq that would thank us for it.
This is the most difficult thing for me to grapple with. On one hand Hitch is a great humanitarian, on the other, he was so vocal about invading Iraq that it damages his legacy a bit for me
@@brennonplays People are flawed. All you can do is acknowledge that and take what is good and valuable.
@@brennonplaysnah it doesn’t the iraq war was justified
I feel like I've got to listen to this 100x to get it all.
Added to favorites.
One of best lectures I have heard. Everybody, americans most of all, should hear this.
What a heroic figure. Every few sentences there are lines that deserve etching into memory forever. To compare him to the Milo/Shapiro/Cenk/Mahers that dominate today discourse, is to compare a lion to flies.
Thomas Paine is easily my favourite historical figure, ever.
Check Paine's invention of the iron bridge.
There is a memorial to Thomas Paine in his home town of thetford. We went to the same school. The sad thing is that we weren't taught much about him in our school. Now that I know more about Paine, I am saddened that they didn't praise him more.
I prefer peace, but if trouble may come. Let it come on my time so my children may have peace.
Thomas Paine
We will miss this man that shown a light on the darkness that Christians try so hard to ignore...
the Enlightenment, because we are alone, we must rely on each other
Forever thankful that he came this way.
I was really into Thomas Paine during college. It was a big piece of my education. His writing was so excellent. Christopher Hitchens is a centerpiece of my education.
Thankful for this posting. As a political circulator collecting signatures for state-wide referendums and nomination petitions, usually I kept a copy of "Common Sense" in plain view. One of my favorite points from it is his sentiment that "...a thirst for absolute power is the natural disease of monarchy"
I just read the quote by Thomas Paine, and it encompasses how I feel, but could not fine the words to express. Thank you.
It's shameful that it takes a Brit to properly appreciate and identify one of the greatest men in American history, who should have a prominent place in our textbooks, but has been disgracefully shoved aside.
My only problem with this lecture is that it was far too brief.
Hitchens was born a Brit but loved America. After Sep 11, he decided to stop living as a puddle jumper and pledge allegiance. He died a U.S. citizen. Most all of use are imported ancestry. More than a nation, America is an ideal. Hitchens became a patriot of that ideal long before he became a citizen.
As was Pane.
Valkyrieank. Sardo He was still British. Stop claiming him as anything but.
Here are some Americans talking about just this. Paine came up with the name “United States” and often refers to them as such.
Hedges, West & Wolfe >th-cam.com/video/itvtwoVCTxM/w-d-xo.html
If Wikipedia is to be believed, the very person you claim to be 'one of the greatest men in American history', was born in the UK. So how is it, now, that Americans should feel ashamed?
Hitch was exceptionally witty to start this talk. I've learned so much from this man, it sometimes makes me wonder, what my arguments would sound like without his words...💯✌️♥️
I wish Hitchens taught more.
I remember how surprised I was at the depth of Paine's involvement in the French Revolution.
He damn near got his head chopped off and it was by accident that he didn't.
lol the title makes it sound like Thomas Payne is giving a lecture about Christopher Hitchens
tee-hee. True. Two wonderful human beings.
Thank you God for sending us Christopher Hitchens.
😂😂😂😂
Good thing he isn’t rolling in his grave from that comment hahaha.
But he is surly missed 😔
LOL Ironic statement considering who you are speaking about...
Funny, your comment tickled me somewhat. 😜
Thank you Christopher Hitchens for debunking the idea of a god.
If Hitchens was wrong (incorrect) about anything, I'm pretty sure he wasn't far off. I'm also pretty sure he wouldn't have minded so much being corrected.
he was wrong about the iraq war,
and smoking...
Strugglebuggie TV Making it a war was the wrong way to get rid of a very evil and dangerous family and Hitchens clearly explained why in other videos if you care to check. He didn't advise smoking to anyone that I know of and neither do I as I'm trying to cut down and quit. Mass producing and selling tobacco to smoke is more WRONG with what we now know about nicotine addiction. Bush was wrong to say god was on his and our side and wrong to be a follower instead of a responsible leader.
Joseph Nordenbrock hitchens was a very clever man who was fooled into thinking that the irak war was for a good cause. but in fact, saddam hussein was once one of the strongest allies of the west, (during the iran/irak war, the USA supplied him with weapons, in fact rumsfeld went to irak in person to shake hands and grease the wheels of war) until hussien decided to think for himself and do what the europeans powers have always done to the rest of the worlds resources: take what you want, and deal with the consequences later.
hussein doesnt even rank in the top 50 worst despots in history, strictly small time, IMO.
bush, however is responsible for over 1,000,000 deaths in irak, not counting afghanistan, and over $3,000,000,000,000 (TRILLION) wasted in securing a cheap source of oil for CHINA. look it up. china gets 75% of that black stuff that 3000 of the USA's soldiers died for...
Strugglebuggie TV Let's just agree you've travelled the world and are better educated on world affairs than the late Christopher Hitchens was so we can leave it at that. I hope this doesn't make you feel I've insulted your intelligence. I can appreciate that you did not directly imply that Hitchens WAS a fool.
Joseph Nordenbrock touche...
In my American History class in the '60s, the teacher just said Thomas Paine was "more radical."
Any sensible language scholar misses this man's point of view on current events around the world.
A man like Hitchens could only be European. The elegance, restraint, wit and weight he speaks with reflects Europe's history, struggles and values. And this should be Europe's greatest advantage.
Obviously you haven't visited Europe lately . The idea that it's
overflowing with great , independent intellectuals similar
to 5 th century Athens is ludicrous . The EU has shrunk to a pathetic
protectionist economic Cartel .
Hitchens was American & British.
Um... [scratches head while looking at a map]
i like Hitchens, however i have always had awesome respect for Thomas Paine.
November 4 2020. Where are you Hitch? We need you now
Christopher hitchens deserves respect, wouldn't mind seeing more people like him. RIP
You and I can emulate his rhetorical style whenever possible.
The discussion on Iraq at about 48 minutes clears something up that I have been wondering about for some time: why my father continued to support the invasion of Iraq. Whatever his reasons, they were too deep for me. I seem to remember Dad read Christopher Hitchens.
A brief research into Saddam Hussein will explain western intervention in Iraq.
Because the war was justified it’s not that hard to understand
@@valkyriesardo278nope it wouldn’t read about saddam he was a fascist it’s not that hard to understand and also a Muslim which isn’t a good thing
oh my god, chritsopher read the aubrey-maturin series ... I love him even more now although it was to be expected of a 'navy brat'
I read the whole series of 20 odd books every 3 years or so. 'Harbours and High Seas' by Dean King is a great book for a Patrick devotee also.
Fantastic. What a shame the last bit is cut off, I was really enjoying it.
hittchens and payne were giants
***** history will show hitch was a great mind
***** I kinda sorta agree... but I think it needs to point out that Hitch and Paine were folks from very disparate eras in the American Experiment, and should be held to different standards. Paine's polemics might have arguably been instrumental in furthering the ideals of republicanism, and that's cool. By the time Hitch took up an interest in the destiny of that experiment, the demands had changed. Did Paine change history? Maybe (for one reason). Did/Will Hitch change history? Maybe (TBD, and for quite a different reason).
But I really do appreciate your post: It's worth thoughtful consideration.
Ron Zajac also i think history will tell it s too early perhaps
Exordinary understanding of the human dilemma!
It’s amazing how much wisdom is shared.
For example if God has something to do with us.
Christopher is a new prophet!
Truth is beautiful after all is said and done.
Objectively is not subjective!
Ended too soon. He was apologizing about going over, but I wanted him to go on!
There is a memorial to Tom Paine in England, a full height statue.. It stands in the village of Thetford, Norfolk, where Paine was born. The statue looks as if it were made of gold, but I imagine it is merely coloured gold. It is interesting to note that the statue was presented to the English people by the grateful people of America. However, The powers that were in England were embarrassed by this gift, since Paine was in no way a friend of Edmund Burke & co. Thus it was sent to Thetford, where it was thought it would be out of the way, unseen by anyone of any note.
There is no god...and Hitchens was his prophet!
There is no god...and Hitchens was our prophet!
FTFY
Wouldn't that be "there is no god and Hitchens WASN'T his prophet"? LOL.
@ Steel MEGA - I think your google translate must be broken or you have shit for brains because I cannot understand a word of what you just said. ROFL!
I really cannot understand how anyone with logic can read Paine, listen to Hitch and Sam Harris and believe ANYTHING in the Bible is far beyond me
Hitch loved thanking the introduction given for him him by saying it was surprisingly terse.
"Suspiciously" so, unless it was effusive, then it was "suspiciously grugding."
Gawd! - I miss this man!
Mr Hitchens is very insightful with respect to the slave trade, but he failed to mention what I believe was the most compelling reason for the South's resistance to abolition: credit. As Joseph Ellis points out in "His Excellency, George Washington", the southern elites lived on credit as much as on their revenues, and their slaves represented an enormous percentage of their collateral. Abolition would have bankrupted the South.
Hitchens was member of Charter 88. I would hope that organisation still exists and succeeds in its lofty aims. It would then force the hands of Australia, New Zealand, Canada and other like countries to make them become republics. Such a thing can only EVER be good for those countries.
Neil Forbes - Never heard of it, but these nations should not be forced to change their form of government. They should become republics only through the will of their people.
@@GH-oi2jf As it was, the vast majority of Australians DID want Australia to be a republic but then-Prime Minister John Howard, "Little Johnny", SABOTAGED the Constitutional Convention by stacking the appointed half of the delegates with monarchists.
So where's the powerpoint?
39:00 such a savage reply. That guy had no idea who he was going up against.
The man must have read 5 books a day and had an eidetic memory.
Alan Kevin In order to have such knowledge reading 5 books a day is not what to do, and is not what Hitch dons. Hitch read a lot of books - no doubt about that - but he selected topics, read as many books that he could on that topic, and repeatedly studied decent books.
Alan Kevin I've thought the same thing.
Right?
piggypigpig my friend in elementary school could read a page in less then a second.
He finished Tolkien’s legendarium in less then a month. (Took me about 5 years lol)
@@CR-bq1me stfu.
Christopher's children & wife should be so very proud of him . I would pay a fortune to have dinner a few drinks along with several hours of conversation with him.! But unfortunately TH-cam will have to do .i can think of no other to make me contemplate life & death as he did. Thank you mr, Hitchens
How does Christopher Hitchens know everything?
+Jerry Kim
It's called "education"!
+terrypussypower and a supreme intellect
+robert trost If only more people followed the example set by Socrates...
+Jerry Kim He actually knew very little, though I'd say he fit what Socrates said about the educated man. He's noted a few times he knows next to nothing about biology or physics or science in general. He's not great on economics either, despite taking it in school. Technology and computers are another weak point, saying he can barely use one except to use the word processor. But when it comes to literature (and in some respects philosophy), his heart is clearly in it and his brain follows suit to the extreme. You'll also find his intellect follows his morality - when dedicated to a cause his mind jumps to action and grips to any tiny details in effort to more eloquently and intelligently argue a point.
+Jerry Kim He literally must have READ everything !!!
George 111 was scandalously portrayed as mad in movies and novels.
"Not in the available time. We could have a glass of refreshment." -Hitchins lol
incomparable is right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hitchens seems unaware of Canadian history. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms was three decades old when he made his remarks. The nation does not fly a union jack over Ottawa. Chris Hedges would have some input regarding his enthusiasm for the war in Iraq.
i love it when he owns the christian at 36.40
Yeah Hitchens is pretty good at this stuff. He's also good at leaving out a lot of things that matter when he's trying to argue down Christianity. Just for one example he will say things like the Bible says don't care for tomorrow so you shouldn't be Thrifty and not plan. However he will leave out the passages where Paul and other early church fathers are telling their congregations to plan for tomorrow and where Jesus is saying to be Thrifty. Paul the Apostle wrote If a man does not work he does not eat. They always wanted their people to be productive and thinking about the next day, just not to worry about when they're going to die. The full doctrine that he does not say is that they believed in planning for the future saving money, also giving some away, and a lot more complicated things than a simple oh we're fixing to die screw it kind of mentality.
also asked for the plagiarism of the Babylonian history in the Golden Rule. yes they said don't do to others what you would not have them do to you with that rabbi, but Jesus flipped it on its head when he said you have to act first and actually do good two others. The first one is a negative for self-preservation, Jesus was commanding acts of good with no expectation of reciprocation. You see how he twists history?
and those Babylonians also got their tenants of the golden rule from the teachings of Moses hundreds of years before
@@paysonfox88 I agree Hitch went a bit illogical in his dislike of the Bible.
You can tell when he is on shakier ground because his speech rate goes up
No gain without Paine.
It matters not the size but the power. The rights of man cannot be defended by governments but fought for by the people
Paine was indeed a practical man. Christopher, great as he is, ignores Paine's models, and smaller scale constructions, of iron bridges, for which he sought patents but abjured any payments. Not only a crucial invention and engineering feat, but also perhaps the first example of open source innovation.
I am surprised that this hasn't been suppressed.
RIP Hitch
Absolutely two intelligent men that spoke truth and used reason in a crazy world 200 years apart.
Brilliant just brilliant
What a firecracker of a man. He was pissing people off in a lecture 😂
the nightmare of the demagogue ... lmao
When Hitchens says "Oh for Heaven's sake" :)
Thank you Britain for producing this wonderful individual.
I would have to say that on some level Christopher felt he was born on the wrong continent.
"The one thing that is uniquely american; is our bill of rights, and constitution which contains things that other western democracies take away and give back to their citizens all of the time as their constitutions aren't the basis of their political structures. The only country with codified rights; the only country with separation of church and state! The first country to separate the powers of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches!
It's highly unique, as it came in a time when the church had much more power, and influence. Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson were two of my favorite historical figures for that reason. America pulled itself away from the pack without a monarchy or a dictator. Call me old fashioned, but I don't like Americans bashing their country...it's masochistic! England has a state church. We have the Queen as the head of the state, the church , and the army! It's madness."
As Paine ( the deist) said on his death bed when ministered to by ministers of the cloth imploring him to believe on JC as they had been to Jerusalem and found the key . Paines response was ." It must be very rusty. "
Delicious Hitchslap at 36:29
It was over before it started lol. When I heard the words "As a Christian..." I was like "don't do it! Nothing good will come to you from this!"
BAM!! A Slam Dunk in the face of that unsuspecting questioner. Thanks for pointing it out sir.
Christopher Schneider lol, THAWP!!!
Hitchens so beautifully illuminates the origin of our modern left and right.
Hitch knew his stuff
But I think he was unfortunately a socialist democrat - and they've gone very very bad...
"My brain is my church, the world is my reality, to improve the world is my religion"I just improved the quote.
If I could believe in the supernatural. ....I would love for Thomas Paine and the Hitch to haunt Donald Trump!
How idiotic. Trump is very much in the strain of Paine and Hitch - he's standing up for Freedom from Obama's continued fakery and tyranny. Wake up for God's sake.
Hitchens only big mistake was take on Iraq
Hitchens' point about the opposition of the Iraq war being tantamount to support for Saddam Hussein is specious reasoning at best. It is the kind of histrionic nonsense that the man himself opposed all of his life, and it's sad to hear examples of him making use of it
I'm sure the bit at the beginning is great, it is incredibly visible, thus the value of VIDEO! That is why we are here on youtube. Please, if you have videos, post those.
I wonder what Hitch would say about Iraq now?
Let them kill each other off. He had real dislike for Islam.
Dùbhghlas .Douglas No he hates all religions equally, look at what he said a*out mother Theresa of Calcutta...
Yeah he wouldn't care if they was killing any other religious people. He hated all religions. Iraq isn't solely Islamic. Never was had good christian population few others.
***** hate is what fuels killing.
***** no but he had higher level dislike towards Islam. He would if he grew up in that part of the world.
There is a statue of Thomas Paine in Thetford ,Norfolk where he was born.It was errected in the sixties a lot in part due to contributions from American airman from nearby RAF Lakenheath. I remember that there were theats to tar and feather it from people who considered him a traitor.I believe it still stands.