i enjoy listening to hitchens speak. he's rich in language, references, humor and ideas, almost always casually, yet deliberately, delivered. this video is no exception, as would be expected in an interview about his memoir, hitch 22, in the new york public library.
i was especially attentive in the 4th and 5th parts, where he speaks about matters related to greece:
paul holdengräber, his interviewer, reads an excerpt where hitchens catches a glimpse of the acropolis for the first time, from the room where his mother's body was discovered. the tangle of personal loss, political crisis -- the then military junta's tanks were in the streets -- and the optimism of brilliance that shines through millennia -- embodied in the parthenon -- is overwhelming.
hitchens continues with his arguments in support of the elgin marbles being returned to their proper place in athens, making a case that has nothing to do with nationalistic or personal interests, and everything to do with our struggle to preserve and appreciate our collective human heritage.
i hold in high regard his ability to take issues that others exploit for petty, divisive gain and transform them into unifying concepts, a thing i welcome in the face of insufferable nationalism too often expressed, everywhere.
