A SAD MISGUIDED SOUL

HALL OF SHAME: a failure to meet your own standards of behavior

 A SAD, MISGUIDED SOUL:

How ironic that Mr Hitchens would be cursed with a disease that took away his greatest asset. How sad that he used these God-given gifts to express his disdain for all things holy; pretending that he was above it all.

In a NY Times book review Staying Power he was quoted saying;

“My two assets my pen and my voice — and it had to be the esophagus. All along, while burning the candle at both ends, I’d been ‘straying into the arena of the unwell’ and now ‘a vulgar little tumor’ was evident. This alien can’t want anything; if it kills me it dies but it seems very single-minded and set in its purpose. No real irony here, though".

  "Must take absolute care not to be self-pitying or self-centered.”

If taking on God is not an arrogant and “self-centered” act I’m not sure I understand it’s meaning. Anyone claiming they “know” the “unknown” is the epitome of self-centeredness.

Adding insult to injury Mr. Hitchens found it necessary to disparage Mother Teresa. In a recent article  Was Mother Teresa actually sort of a jerk?  he is quoted as saying;

(Of course, this isn't news to fans of Christopher Hitchens, the erudite atheist who made it his mission to battle religious dogma before he died in 2011. He even wrote a book on the topic called, crudely enough, The Missionary Position:)

     

"Bear in mind that Mother Teresa’s global income is more than enough to outfit several first-class clinics in Bengal. The decision not to do so, and indeed to run instead a haphazard and cranky institution which would expose itself to litigation and protest were it run by any branch of the medical profession, is a deliberate one. The point is not the honest relief of suffering but the promulgation of a cult based on death and suffering and subjugation." [Salon]

Had Mr. Hitchens devoted some time to reflecting on something other than himself he might have found it more productive to contribute to Mother Teresa's cause or even spend some time working with her. 

It’s unfortunate that Mr Hitchens and those of like mindedness won’t have an opportunity to spend time with Mother Teresa in those final moments we all come to. To have someone there who understands pain and suffering in its purest form; not sugar coated or discounted, but as an intricate part of living. 

‘Mortality,’ by Christopher Hitchens