Καταπληκτική η συζήτηση, αλλά δυστυχώς την έχασα στην εξέλιξή της. Παρόλ' αυτά διάβασα μια μίνι κριτική του εν λόγω βιβλίου θυμίζοντάς μου το Nickel βεβαίως βεβαίως, οπότε και την παραθέτω:
Letters to a Young Contrarian, by Christopher Hitchens (Basic Books, £7.99)
How should a radical life be lived? And what advice can a seasoned provocateur offer to an aspiring contrarian? There is of course no model way of making a living at being a dissenter, since being in opposition is "something you are, not something you do". Certainly Christopher Hitchens, who comes from a military family with a long tradition of service to the empire, is well aware of the imposture of positioning himself as an authority on the subject and is suitably "tentative" (a word seldom ascribed to him) in taking up the challenge to counsel the young and restless. A key instruction is always to "be open to the possibility that one's core assumptions are misconceived". Best of all, though, is the recommendation that "one acts bloody-minded as often as the odds are favourable and even sometimes when they are not". Peppered with fascinating extracts and quotations from an assortment of mentors and misfits, these thoroughly enjoyable letters offer a hearty riposte to reactionaries, equivocators and, worst of all offenders, a self-congratulatory "herd of independent minds".
AS
I can live everywhere in the world, but it must be near an airport -and a pharmacy, I would add.
Δεν είναι ο ύπνος της λογικής που γεννάει τέρατα, αλλά ο άγρυπνος ορθολογισμός που πάσχει από αϋπνίες.
