I can’t help thinking I ought to quote George Orwell. Christopher Hitchens quoted Orwell so much in his writing, it seems a shame not to. But I suppose it’s also a fitting tribute to him to not follow the trend.

I wish I could write well enough to do justice to the work of Mr. Hitchens. I cannot, alas, and so this post will be brief. I wish only to lament his death, and to praise his work.

His writings influenced me quite a bit, and I always admired his willingness to challenge popular beliefs. I thought he was wrong about a lot of things, as did almost everyone who read him, but his writing was so brilliant you couldn’t help being moved to thought by it.