Peter Hitchens

Peter Hitchens is one of the UK's most prominent political journalists. Hitchens, who writes for the Mail on Sunday, is hardly universally admired, as his frank polemics enrage political leftists and trouble vote-hungry politicians. He is, however, someone worth writing a post about, as never a dull word flows from his inexaustible pen. This post will explore why Hitchens is to be admired.
He stands apart, in my opinion, as an independent thinker who provides solid and reasoned explanations for contemporary problems, and who always speaks his own mind, rather than spouting a fashionable political agenda. What has concerned me about the American conservative movement is how broadcasters such as Fox TV appear to rather unquestingly adhere to the President's line, even when the President breaks conservative principles. I admire the way Hitchens stands alone, his personal integrity, and his desire to cultivate a politics that is actually more interested in dealing with the day to day lives of people than with bureaucracies, careerism, supporting politicians out of tribal loyalties and misguided political correctness.

While his language is uncomfortable to read, and he does sometimes, in my opinion, go a little far in denouncing the EU and pressing the case for 'bread-and-better' conservative issues, he tackles the issues that the politicians won't touch. His support for strong families, for example. It would seem that such a subject, while not quite taboo, is still felt to be uncomfortable by the political elite, who don't want to send out the message that somehow by being pro-family one is homophobic and anti cultural diversity. He speaks his mind on immigration. He rightly points out how his church have gone from supporting traditional Christian morality, in terms of the individuals relationship with God as being the first priority, to being a champion of liberal social causes, which are political, not religious, matters. All these are uncomfortable lessons to learn, I believe, which is why Hitchens is never going to appeal to many, but I believe he has a generally accurate view of how a society should regulate itself, particularly in regard to the last point about the role of religion, the family, and individual spirituality.

Lastly, Hitchens has a great sense of humour, even if he is a little mean towards New Labour. The post I read today talked about how Tony Blair (or Anthony, as Peter likes to call him) and Gordon Brown, and how one knew practically nothing about anything and the other knew everything about everything, and how the present partnership actually benefited them both. Read it, its funnier than how I've described it. http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2006/04/index.html

In short, Peter Hitchens passion, the independent nature of his writing, and his humour all make for an excellent journalist who should not be ignored.