A Last Word On Hitchens

[poliphilo]

I spent much of yesterday on Hitchens' website. I think he's doing important work. Someone needs to be knocking religion- and he's good at it. But only up to a point. The debate never gets much more sophisticated than "So where did Cain's wife come from, eh?"  He's a clever person of limited culture- with a layman's understanding of Victorian science- butting against positions that became untenable a hundred and fifty years ago. It's a weary old war and I withdrew from it a while ago, but I'm glad there are still people out there in the field, bashing away.

Comments

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I spoke too soon....:)

[loxian.livejournal.com]

Oh dear. I really upset somebody. She said she felt as if she'd been stabbed. I'm not venturing into this territory again for a while.

Shame, because I was going to go on about Terry Pratchett and how anti-euthanasia I am next.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

That's a shame. It ought to be possible to discuss these things- which are important- without turning it into personal drama.

Going "poor me" when a discussion takes you out of your comfort zone is cowardly, I think.

I have mixed feelings about euthanasia. I think people have the right to kill themselves, but I wish they wouldn't. Killing yourself is tacky- and going to a Swiss clinic to do it is not only tacky but creepy.