And what beautiful light it gave

It is not because something is expected that it is not sad. Christopher Hitchens died yesterday. Cancer sucks. I never read his books, but I did follow his work, watched countless videos of him, read his articles. I blogged about him before. I have decided to use the same title as then, as in an age when the forces of obscurantism are rampant, he gave us a beautiful light. This light was sharp, merciless, unapologetic, iconoclastic. As light should be. I didn't agree with everything he said (on the Iraq war for instance), but on the most I have to say he was spot on. He was a brilliant debater with a sharp mind and flawless logic. I think his critics, still virulent after his death (here is a sample), could never forgive him for being smart and logical, that he was everything they often failed to be. Well, we still have his aphorisms. And the homage of his friends. He died yesterday, but unlike many fellow primates, he certainly lived. Excessively, but can we have too much life?