Quote of the Month 9

The quote for December:

It’s only when you have grazed on the lower slopes of your own ignorance and begun to understand the great vistas of non-knowledge that you have, that you can claim to have been educated at all.

Christopher Hitchens
Among answers to top questions from reddit.com

I think it highly likely that we have all heard this said in various forms, somewhere or other.  Basically it means that acknowledging one’s ignorance is the first step to educating oneself.  However, this much more elegant, and visual way of putting it kind of struck home with me today.

I’ve been on a Hitchens kick over the last few days, listening to various interviews and debates on YouTube while working.  As I have primarily listened to just the snippets in the past, I decidedly chose the longer and preferably older uploads this time.  It is always an educational experience listening to him speak – if not for simple exapanions of your vocabulary, then for his ability to make one really consider one’s opinions about a variety of subjects.

I have been particularly interested in is his opinion regarding the United States forcing regime change on independent nations.  Listening to interviews given by him immediately after the Granada invasion, he is vehemently opposed to it.  Yet, as most people are aware, he very vocally supported the second invasion of Iraq – which I have always thought to be a poorly planned and even more poorly implemented illegal act with the sole aim of forced regime change.  (I am not commenting on whether it was a good idea or not – simply stating what I see as the legality of the invasion.  Much as he did when discussing Granada.)

Anywho, that’s the quote for December.  Hope y’all have a good holiday season, wherever you may be and thanks for reading.