Warts and All
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James Joyner | Thursday, June 14, 2007 |
Andrew Sullivan, reacting to a reader email wondering how he can be friends with Christopher Hitchens, who is a drunk and hostile to religion, responds,
My own position with friends is to accept them totally, or not be friends. I have no desire for Hitch to be anything other than completely himself, and if that includes a fondness of whiskey, more power to him. I have no desire to change him in any way. His fearless brilliance, astonishingly wide reading and great wit are treasures to me and a lot of others.
Hitchens has accomplished more under the influence of whiskey than perhaps anyone since General Grant.
And I agree completely that someone is your friend as is or not at all. As the old saying goes, “A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway.” People change over time and, presumably, one’s friends have some role in that process. Usually, though, it’s a byproduct of shared experiences rather than calculated effort.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Remember what Lincoln said about Grant: "Find out what he's drinking so I can get it for the rest of my generals."
Hitchens is a throwback to those opinionated old-times who had as much booze in their veins as printers' ink. He is witty and erudite but much of his humor comes, I think, from a sense of despair.
Ted
But does Hitchens drink Whiskey or Whisky?
""Hitchens has accomplished more under the influence of whiskey than perhaps anyone since General Grant.""
Perfect Analogy !
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