Another example of why I think Christopher Hitchens is a dangerous idiot: while in a drunken stupor, he equates private decisions to play Christmas music with North Korean tyranny.
"It may have struck you, ladies and gentlemen, that there's a big relationship between this marvelous time of year and living in a one-party state," Hitchens told the overflow crowd of 250. "You can't go anywhere without listening to the same music. You can't go anywhere without hearing the name of the Great Leader, and his son, the Dear Leader....All broadcasts, all songs, all jokes, all references are, just for that magic few weeks, just exactly like living in...North Korea."
The guy's a facile moron who shouldn't be taken seriously in any context. Once he sobers up he should go read about what North Korea is really like.
(HT: Instapundit via Ann Althouse.)
Ok, so Christopher Hitchens is a little bit over the top. Hey, we need an Ann Coulter type on our side too!
I bet he'd love that analogy!
Lately I've found that even Richard Dawkins has been trying to get away with saying too much, oversimplifying too much, and cutting too many corners. The only outspoken atheists I really like anymore are Daniel Dennett and Michael Shermer.
But what I said in my first comment is still pretty much true: One could argue that every ideological movement benefits in some way from a nut who really pushes the envelope of what you can get away with saying.
(And, to be fair: Pointing out that the ubiquity of Christmas music is SIMILAR to the ubiquity of pro-dictator media in a place like North Korea is just pointing out one superficial but interesting similarity, and wondering about its psychological impact. It's not saying that Christmas celebrations are similar to dictator worship in any other way. Things can be similar in a few ways without being similar in every way (or even in substantial ways) but those few ways might be interesting to point out and talk about).
BM: What you say true, but I don't think it applies in this case. Superficial similarities are only interesting as intellectual curiosities, if that.