Christopher Hitchens will go down in history as one of the greatest minds of his generation. A great influence during my youth despite his views on the Iraq war. He was such a brilliant person and never hid his flaws, which I love.

@AAwildeone

6 жыл бұрын

i wish i had the pleasure of shaking his hand...

He was so smart. You just don't hear people who are that smart very often at all. Many people don't agree with him as he was very opinionated and held some unpopular opinions particularly as it relates to God and religion. But if you listen I don't see how you could refute the reality of his massive intellect. Great loss.

@USA92

Жыл бұрын

Or you could say many people did. But you choose not to. And there are many as smart as him. You should get out more.

There is nothing I wouldn't give for a session to shoot the shit with Hitchens. Such a powerful voice was lost the day he died...

@MrTomte09

7 жыл бұрын

"Shoot the shit" ? ? ?

America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilisation in between - Oscar Wilde

@Thindorama

9 жыл бұрын

evenflow1981 FUCK YOU, AMERICA IS THE GREATEST, GOD BLESS AMERICA

@evenflow1981

9 жыл бұрын

The Land of the Caps Lock and the Home of the Bad Grammar.

@evenflow1981

9 жыл бұрын

I assume you're being ironic. Otherwise that reply is hilarious.

@Thindorama

9 жыл бұрын

evenflow1981 how is the grammar wrong idiot

@evenflow1981

9 жыл бұрын

Have you heard of full stops?; capital letters?; commas? If you're going to throw childish insults at me then at least do it in proper English!

He was the best in this grim world.

Brian Lamb: "Is America the greatest country in the world?" HITCHENS: "Yes, it is..."

@brunomartell7489

2 жыл бұрын

No, he didn't say it is. Didn't you hear everything he said? He just said he was proud to become a citizen of the US (by the way, America is a CONTINENT, not a country. He also said it's a country with a lot of accomplishment to feel proud of itself, but at the same the same time it's a contradictory country because of how conservative it is.

@brunomartell7489

Жыл бұрын

​@@ww3662 "United States of Mexico"? What the hell are you talking about?!! The official name of Mexico is 'Mexican United States': MEXICAN. That's their demonym. They didn't arrogate as their demonym the one that belongs to the continent where their country has its territory. And they certainly did not appropriate of the name of that very same continent to use as a synonym of the name of their country. "Also 'America' is not a continent, at least for most of the world". That's one of the most stupid things I've read in a long time. But I get it. You just talk considering what the people of the US know about the world. People in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are not able to point a country in America, the same continent than their own country. People in their 20s or teenagers are even more unlikely to complete that simple task. No people from any country of South America, Central America or North America present themselves as "Americans". They simply use their own demonym. But they just don't arrogate a CONTINENTAL denmonym that represents THREE subcontinents to use it as their own. As the US has done decades or centuries, as another display of Imperialism. Oh, by the way, just in case so you don't have a heart attack, I'm not a communist. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that I could never get to that level of austerity that require communism. I would very much like being able to be happy with only essential things. But my will is not that strong.

@brunomartell7489

Жыл бұрын

@@ww3662 It's not wrong that they consider or call themselves "Americans". As I said, they are. I will say to them what I already said. That what is wrong is that they arrogate that continental demonym as it belonged to their country, or as if it was a synonym of the demonym of the people of their country.

What an eloquent, wise yet down to earth man Hitchens is. This world would surely be a better place if we all strive for a more intelligent and graceful approach to life.

"I drink because it makes other people less boring" - easily one of Hitchens most quotable lines.

@SteveLoiz

Жыл бұрын

Ernest Hemingway quote

I have lived in 4 countries in Europe France, Germany, Italy and Sweden. I have visited China, India, Columbia and Japan. I think the statement "greatest country" is ambiguous, but certainly America is the largest freest of the strong large countries ( Russia, China, India, Brazil) , it is the most multi-cultural of the wealthy countries: Japan, Germany, France, UK, It has 16 of the top 20 universities in the world (Times of London) 330 Nobel prize winners ( nearly 3 times 2nd place UK) not bad.

@etchalaco9971

4 жыл бұрын

Peru and Mexico are the only countries in the Americas that developed a little thing called Civilization!

Hey man, keep up the good posts. Thanks :D.

Skip to 4:45 for the "greatest country" question

1:17 - 1:38 is so real it's fuckin insane

"alcohol makes people less boring" lol

What a man. What an inspiration. Christopher Hitchens cracks open your mind and lets the lights in like no other.

I don't know I would say America is the greatest country in the world. There are many things about it that I have reservations about. But, then again, I wouldn't say it is a terrible country. I think what fustrates me is the statement in the first place, that it would consider itself the greatest country in the world, and ignore the feats and excellent points of other countries in the process, so, I'd say the moment America stopped claiming to be the greatest country, is the moment when it will.

I use stuff from the best plant in the world.. It inspires me to greatnes, in the depresive periods.

@Ragnaroz6000

8 жыл бұрын

+Stefano Fava Opium ?

***** Yes

I never knew Hitch quit smoking before he found out he had cancer.

But is the judicial branch REALLY seperated from the executive and political branch when the president appoint the judges for the supreme court? And the judges often side with the party that appointed them in any given question so is the seperation more in theory then practise?

@DavidHeffron78

10 жыл бұрын

***** Good point. I suppose it's limited in the sense that the judges stay there till they die, so no President can be sure to load the dice in their favour, only the Presidents (of the same party) to follow.

@DavidHeffron78

10 жыл бұрын

***** So you'd approve of fixed terms for the Supreme Court?

He will never be "out of style"Up the Kurds.Hitchens lives on. Peace

America is a great country because of it's history and it's people, NOT because of its education or healthcare.

It was when I was watching this that I realized the best way for me to describe Hitch was that he could do, with words, what Rambrandt could to with the brush.

@TharosTheDragon i agree, I'm just responding to your comment because I've read God is not Great and watched dozens of interviews with Hitchens, and it seemed like no one was going to answer your question.

The man is a joy! Listening to him speak makes me feel that I've been given a priceless gift, one that needs cherishing and frequent renewal by sharing his remarks with others. With his death America lost one of the greatest minds of our history.

there's actually a lot he didnt know, and he admitted it as well. the truest sign of an intelligent man.

What country do you live in?

@David2point0 I don't want to say this in a bad way, but since I'm a bit uninformed with those beginnings of America, I'd like to know how are they so much different from many other western countries? Or are you saying that America was one of the earliest to take that good route (I don't know, I'm just giving suggestions), or what?

Greece and Spain can no longer borrow money, except at extortionate rates, because lenders fear that they will be unable to pay back their debts. Thus, despite their emergency austerity measures, their deficit and debt continue to grow, ever faster, ever larger. True fact.

Boulder (Beauty & funky skiing vibes), Seattle (If you can take 9 months of drizzle), Portland (same caveat as Seattle) San Fran, East Bay too (Oakland, Berkley) Venice Beach (Where I am) New York (The Center of the universe :-) Chicago (IF you can take the winters!) THere are rural areas of exceeding beautiful all over, yet we MUST experience city life. Most of the US cities suffer from an extreme form cultural depravity compared with the rest world, except for these cities I mentioned.

Christopher has an amazing outlook of the world. Free thought delivered in a very precise non-irritating fashion. I'm gonna buy this guy a beer if I'm ever lucky enough to meet him.

What does that mean?

Hitchens - I may not always agree with him but I always appreciate the guy. What a class act.

Can't make out what he says at 5:32 about the cuban revolution...any help???

One thing of history Hitch made clear to the world is the very fact that the fight for enlighment in the world is far from over!

Rather than jumping into the fray here I'm just going to say that, as usual, Hitchens gives an insightful and well-reasoned response.

I love this guy. Brilliant.

Love his views on religion, hate his views on politics. R.I.P mate.

what did he say at 4:55 to 5:03 ?

I really enjoy listening to & reading C Hitchens`s view points, & speaking just for myself its a loss personally,as I am no longer able to keep listening to new,current & evolving ideas of his,Selfish of me in a way really,as my first thought was not,"how awful a loss to his family".Its not just his content I miss but his style,his delivery that seems to be particular to his & his peers generation,a time before mobile phones & Pc`s.He definitely left his mark behind & not many of us will do that

What a great interviewer. Hitchens was great as always, as well.

Hitchens truly loved our country.

Hmm, where do YOU live? My friend lives in Bergen as she has NEVER complained about Norwegian helathcare. In fact, she moved FROM the US to Norway for a better life.

@A2thedouble As a Brit I agree. America is the most revolutionary country.

That's beside the point (though your causal connection can be questioned, too). My point was that if you market a given set of principles across the whole globe (say, freedom of speech), you are not very sensitive to cultures that may disagree with both your definition and its range of applicability. We have to admit there are functioning phenomena which just cannot be reconciled with any given interpretation of "a right".

i love how he shamelessly plugs his book, you can tell that he feels strongly about the subject and wants to spread that message to as many people as possible

America seems like a very extreme country, very revolutionary. They have had many influences around the world, both in good and bad ways. For me, I can't say America's the greatest. It is quite an exceptional country though. btw I say "they" because I'm Canadian. All and all, I don't think any country is the "greatest". I do have favourites though.

Enormously eloquent intellect, will be sadly missed.

4:27 One of Hitchens' best quotes

Mac vs PC?

I usually try to entertain various opinions (like William James... :)) and spot weaknesses in them rather than devote myself to praising x and condemning y. I'm on nobody's "side" 100 % and I think no critic should be, that is, if they intend to remain critics.

Technologically, militarily, and economically, the United States is the best in the world. We, as Hitchens stated, have a better tradition of equality, secularism, and limited government. As for how these ideas have been carried out in some parts of our history is a different matter though. As for our foreign policy and education as of late, don't get me started. I'd say I'm more in love with the ideas America was founded on than what America is today, though.

Nations are man made constructions. They come and go, they change shape and size in wars. Algeria used to be French, they fought for independence and now, there are some people who talk about a Union of the Mediteranian Sea. Nations do constitut a unit that is distinct from other units because of media, language, politics etc. But to believe that these differences are unbridgeable and eternal, especially in politics, is being very unimaginative...

@angels77100 - lol.. Non-irritating? Hitchens revels in his ability to aggravate those who disagree with him. Thats' half of what makes him fascinating to listen to - his acerbic wit and the way he turns a phrase and twists the knife in when he does it. Love it. lol Even though I don't agree with ALL of his stances on politics, we find ourselves very much in agreement on matters of religion.

@guyverdio very true, if you follow the debates, especially on religion it's not uncommon he gives the same answers to questions he is asked at every debate.

6:00 "separate the executive, the judicial... the political branch" rare slip

many thanks, guess i need to improve my vocabulary

This is a very smart individual. Only the foolish will ignore whut he has to say.

Hitchens is a fascinating personality. I didn't know his parents were Baptist. That explains a lot about his atheism. Thanks for posting this clip.

Me and my father in law got into a massive argument about america vs India, I wish I had the demeanour of hitchens in that debate

@skydome29 : Private property is sacred in the minds of most citizens, and not necessarily in the actions of anyone whose salary is paid out of taxes. There will always be tension between private property and government officials wanting to get things done.

Mind you, mr. Hitchens, the American Constitution was mainly based on the books TTP and Ethica, written by the Dutch Jewish philosopher Baruch de Spinoza in the 17th century.

True, but it certainly did not come easily. They just survived long enough to try to correct the many mistakes and come out on the other side better for it. Same as America is doing.

You mean 50 years ago. The Supreme Court ruled it illegal in 1956. The Black population in England was never large enough to justify the setting up of an entire system needed for Jim Crow. However, Jews in England were subject to harsh laws before they were expelled totally, and the American system of race separation post-civil war (as well as apartheid in South Africa) owes a lot to the British colonial system. In parts of Europe today, a modern Jim Crow is still alive for Romas.

@Lashmush where did 'doesn't afraid of anything' come from, before it was a 4chan kiddie thing

Not at all; he simply has a very human rage against evil forces in this world, including that of religion and other instances of totalitarianism and fascism.

@boboangry The amount of time he's spent debating and sharing his thoughts it's probably very rare that he'd get a question that he hasn't come across before (in some cases to the point where people seem to him like a broken record). He fine tunes his answers so amazingly though, I think you can tell he keeps the very core of all his arguments very clear in his mind so when he talks you very rarely (if at all) get something that contradicts something else that he's said.

I think history is a great place of learning… and what it teaches me is that, every great nation or prominent civilisation that has rose to power will eventually be reduced rubble…

"Eh? Which government?" The current British government. Go outside and look at all the "security" cameras in your country. If you think these won't be used by the state to enforce totalitarian policies, you're kidding yourself. Orwell understood the power of surveillance of the masses, which is why it was a central theme of 1984. Yes, I'm already well aware of the biography of Orwell, Hitchens wrote a good book on him.

What an amazing man And what an unfortunate loss: the one and only Mr. Hitchens

@jackstarblaze Think about this way: If I intentionally "dumb down" my words in the (probably misguided) belief that you will not have the capacity to understand them, isn't that pretty presumptuous? Why should I assume that you won't be able to understand them, or at least be able to look them up in a dictionary? Don't misunderstand me- I believe in never using a larger (or abstruse) word when a simpler one will do, but often times those larger, more concise words better convey what I want.

of course :)

This is the best Hitchen interview .... clearest, frankly spoke ... I miss this guy. I'm glad I got a chance to see him work....Balls "With the booze I find it's a better servant than a master"...ha

@Lazerisous The soviets certainly sacrificed more soldiers, and suffered more civilian deaths, than the Europeans or Americans. But don't forget the massive assistance we gave them during the war. My old Russian language professor (who was in the soviet union during WWII) liked to say that it was "spam and Ford trucks" that won the eastern front. Soviets made tanks; we gave them everything else.

OUR CHILDREN should be taught the sciences, there is no room for religion in school as if it were a possibilty

I respectfully disagree that he is hurting his position by not teaching his children what he believes. I think hes simply saying that his children really wouldn't understand his logic at this point in their life. It would be more important to let them think what they want rather than drill what he thinks they should believe before they can rationally understand it themselves. He would be no better than religious parents if he pushed his own beliefs unto his kids while they were young.

@Lazerisous: And America's supplies saved the Russians. Read into the vast supply drops by American forces into Soviet cities. Read about the amount of Soviet military equipment that was, in fact, American-built. By the end of the war in Europe, two-thirds of the Red Army's trucks were built in America. During the height of the war, the Soviet Union produced less than a hundred railcars: the United States provided them with 11,000, and 2,000 locomotives. Basically, it was a group effort.

@MrDookieBootie You gave us the loan, but with really harsh terms. We needed an interest-free loan of $8bn. Instead we got one of just under $4bn, with interest - that we didn't pay off until 2006. Even you must admit that was incredibly harsh. Keynes, the economist sent to negotiate the loan, put it like this: "They mean us no harm, but their minds are so small, their prospects so restricted, their knowledge so inadequate, their obstinacy so boundless and their legal pedantries so infuriating."

I messed up the last sentence. Shouldn't write comments when drinking. =)

I suppose that it is a question of definition. If you go by GNP or Military power, it's obvious that the US is #1. On quality of life, that is a MUCH more complicated issue. I'd also like to point out that the Canadians are the best next door neighbors anyone could possibly ask for.

I'm confused. Is Hitchens pro-war? He says he doesn't identify with any party, but he sort of sounds like a conservative here and even said he nearly voted for McCain. This doesn't seem like the Hitchens I heard about at all.

@195ashes I completely agree, but we must remember not to apply modern values when considering history like this. Compared to the regimes that the British Empire replaced and left behind after decolonisation (with some notable exceptions of course), Britain can be considered as a somewhat "nice" Empire, especially in comparison to other European empires. Notably as well was that in it's early years (say ~1600-1700), Britain did not go looking to pinch land, it just sort of happened.

@spiromilhouse I don't understand your point. Rock 'n 'Roll was mostly an invention of American-born blacks who played African-based music on the available instruments- with the added boon of adopting dominant 7th chords, Tonic, sub-dominant and dominant progressions and melismatic playfulness with the the flat 5. Much of the value of this music is African-inspired. Early 20th century blacks were hardly considered "True Americans" by the whites of the time. They developed their music isolated.

@REASONINFUSION yes, you are correct. but you can argue that the civil war was the turning event in us history, because shortly after that they became the most powerful nation in the world. It did leave residual racism which is sad and somewhat unknown to me...

I just think any "pro-academic" stance gets easily trampled beneath Jacksonesque "right-brandishing", i.e., holding Freedom of Speech so sacred it even unravels all cultural borders. Often, it gets mixed with powerfully masculine, "rough" ethos I picked up from your message. There's a recent book by Susan Jacoby called "The Age of American Unreason" that addresses the dangers inherent in holding too tenaciously onto abstract rights which is, you must admit, a typically American phenomenon.

@MrDookieBootie Did you not watch the video I posted? Of course I acknowledge that America helped us out, but after the war, you abandoned us. We did not get our "asses kicked." Never heard of the Battle of Britain? El Alamein? Burma Campaign? You shouldn't give yourself too much credit for winning the war. After all, it was the Soviets who did most of the work, and you didn't join until you were actually attacked. Commonwealth nations stood solidly with us throughout the war.

"Rightious"?

Very true, but that's not what Captain Caveman was saying. He was merely commenting on the atmosphere in the interview and doesn't deserve his downvotes.

Huh?

@themightyjoseph : the cost of the USA's import bill has exceeded its export revenues nearly every year over the past 50 years. The USA pays for trade deficit by selling bits of the family silver, and by borrowing from foreigners (China is now a huge creditor). The American lifestyle (including sprawling cities and people living far from their jobs) assumed cheap oil. Expensive oil requires a major belt tightening the USA is unwilling to undergo.

@cybervore "Ok, I don't even need to bother watching this video...and I didn't! " That's why nobody needs to bother reading the rest of your comment.

Canada, ill wait for the long stream of american insults now lol

@commissaryarrick9670

7 жыл бұрын

Souventine kelouge you have been waiting for 3 years , still no insults

I would not say America is the greatest country in the world by no means we are by no means the worst. but we do have issues in society that we need address quickly.

@ErikNikolai australia's a social democracy?

@skydome29 You would have to factor the millions of supplies we shipped to countries into the analogy. A boxer would have a tough time fighting if he didn't have arms or legs, no? And of course the side we helped wanted us to help, we didn't just jump into the ring.

@skydome29 Just remember in WW2, one of the boxers was desperately asking America to jump in the ring for quite a while.

@skydome29 Yes, but they helped to train, feed and equip boxer 1, the lightweight, who was up against boxer 2, the heavyweight, before getting many, many bad injuries in becoming: "the reason you won this fight".

@Lazerisous Europeans always forget that the Americans were fighting another war, besides the one in Europe, against the Japanese while waging war against the Germans. In fact, the Normandy landings pale in comparison to the island hopping campaign that took place in the Pacific fighting the most fanatical enemy any army could have fought against. The Soviet war machine would have come to a grinding halt were it not for the benefit of having US oil, locomotives, ships, trucks, boots and food.

@MrMorg19 - I was being facetious and hyperbolic for effect. Your apparent lack of getting the joke doesn't help the British stereotype of "dry" humor. lol

@MyMerlin1 I agree

I think he of all people he recognised that the world today is not a very happy place to live in at all. Wether you are directly confronted by it in the form of violence and abuse etc. or indirectly by having to live in constant guilt knowing you are one of the lucky few people who are spared most of this suffering.