Christopher Hitchens, �Letters to a Young Contrarian�
Geez, from one outlaw journalist to another. Can somebody say clich�?
The idea behind this book follows the lines of Rilke�s Letters to a Young Poet, meaning Hitchens fills a book with imaginary letters to a young person interested in the idea of activism and rebellion. Part sociology, part cultural criticism, and part history lesson, Hitchens manages to show the roots and history behind dissent, and keep it palatable.
This may sound easy, but unlike so many other cultural theorists on the subject from Camus to Chomsky, Hitchens (who some may remember as the journalist who wrote the expose on Mother Theresa) manages to stay focused AND engaging, meaning you, as a reader, stay interested. That�s quite a feat. And in fact, this is probably one of the best books I�ve read this year, and it certainly holds its own against the normally quoted cultural critics.
I don�t generally like to use quotes, but I marked so many pages of this book that I can�t resist plunking them down here. Besides, as he�s trying to instill and inspire rebellion, it makes sense that I would ignore the �No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission� line. So, to quote:
- ...Do bear in mind that the cynics have a point, of a sort, when they speak of the �professional nay-sayer.� To be in opposition is not to be a nihilist. And there is no decent or charted way of making a living at it. It is something you are, and not something you do.
Now that may not be especially deep, but it is well phrased and gives you something to think about. How many people do you know who hate something purely for the sake of hating it, particularly if it happens to be in general favor?
I can�t tell you how many times as an editor, I had to deal with people walking into the newsroom declaring they should be given print space for an opinion column, because they were, quote, �opinionated.� I would have to explain that nobody gives a rat�s ass about their opinion, and the best columnists let other people state the opinion for them.
Not that I follow that advice, but this is a journal, not an opinion column, dammit.
So how does one maintain a skeptical view of the world without becoming cynical? Again, to quote Hitchens:
- I can give you a small and perhaps ridiculous example. Every day, the New York Times carries a motto in a box on its front page. �All the News That�s Fit to Print,� it says.� [...] I check every day to make sure that the bright, smug, pompous, idiotic claim is still there. Then I check to make sure that it still irritates me. If I can still exclaim, under my breath, why do they insult me and what do they take me for and what the hell is it supposed to mean unless it�s as obviously complacent and conceited and censorious as it seems to be, then at least I know I still have a pulse.
Now, it�s not like I do this affirmation exercise (though I do wish I had though of it), but I do similar actions every time I walk by my roommates while they sit and watch television. I can hear the programs blaring away as I fix a drink, or occasionally, some food, and I think to myself, why do they insult me and what do they take me for and what the hell is it supposed to mean unless it�s as obviously complacent and conceited and censorious as it seems to be.
And I know quite fucking well I still have a pulse.
