On December 15, 2011, our community lost one off our fiercest advocates, Christopher Hitchens. For our January meeting, we are going to have a open mic tribute to Christopher Hitchens. We will have an opportunity to share readings from his books God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Hitch‑22 or others or excerpts from his writings for Vanity Fair and other publications. Additionally, there will be some short video clips featured from debate performances and interviews. For the open mic portion, individuals can either read a portion of a Christopher Hitchens writing or share their own reflections. Since FIG members do not believe in an afterlife, individuals can also share ways that they grieve for individuals who have died.
Hannaford Suites permits us to bring food and drink, so feel free to bring items for yourself or to share to promote the Open Mic concept. If you are interested in speaking during the meeting, please e‑mail Shawn Jeffers at figcincinnati@gmail.com or bring your items with you to the meeting. There will be an opportunity to sign up at the meeting.
Excerpt of Christopher Hitchens New York Times Obituary
Christopher Hitchens, a slashing polemicist in the tradition of Thomas Paine and George Orwell who trained his sights on targets as various as Henry Kissinger, the British monarchy and Mother Teresa, wrote a best‑seller attacking religious belief, and dismayed his former comrades on the left by enthusiastically supporting the American‑led war in Iraq, died on Thursday in Houston. He was 62.
"In whatever kind of a 'race' life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist," Mr. Hitchens wrote in Vanity Fair, for which he was a contributing editor.
He took pains to emphasize that he had not revised his position on atheism, articulated in his best‑selling 2007 book, AGod Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything,@ although he did express amused appreciation at the hope, among some concerned Christians, that he might undergo a late‑life conversion.
You can read the full obituary at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/arts/christopher‑hitchens‑is‑dead‑at‑62‑obituary.html?pagewanted=all |
