Christians, atheist scientists, gay libertarians… no one is impressed with atheism’s enfant intoxiqué:
This ex-Trotskyist, whose support for militant secularism led him to idolize the founder and first commander of the Red Army, has gone so over the top with his crusade against all religion that he has come to advocate wiping out entire populations. “Demolish it!” he said, when asked about Iran – with apparently no more moral compunctions about the slaughter of the innocent than one might normally exhibit toward a swarm of midges….
Although I am not religious, I’m acutely aware of the dangers posed by radical secularists in the course of modern history, and the death of communism has left people like Hitchens still itching for Armageddon, the final showdown between the forces of Modernity (represented by his fat, smug self), and the forces of medieval Reaction (represented by Iran, or the Muslim enemy of the moment).
Some things never change. “Demolish it!” shrieks Hitchens, as Voltaire shouted “Écrasez l’infâme!” And then their supporters pretend to be surprised when all this Enlightened passion eventually turns into guillotines and gulags.
I don’t agree, however, with Raimondo’s wish, similar to Deutsch’s regarding Coulter, that media outlets refuse to give Hitchens a platform. By all means, let them spread his ideas far and wide, as he may be the most self-refuting, self-destructive intellectual I have ever seen.