Letters To A Young Contrarian- Chapter 1

I took a lot away from this first chapter of Letters to a Young Contrarian. Hitchens main focus in this chapter was on opposition and the life of a person who is an independent thinker. He starts by highlighting the fact that as a society we see unique thinkers as a good thing. "It can be understood from them that society, like a benign family, tolerates and even admires eccentricity." We admire those who think differently because we learn how to think from these ideas that they share. He also pointed out that we may encourage this way of thinking, but if you veer too far from the social norms, you begin to be less accepted. "Go too far outside "the box," of course, and you will encounter a vernacular that is much less "tolerant." His argument is basically that even though independent thinking and opposition can be frowned upon by the general public, that we should still make an effort to share our thoughts. He states in the text, "The life of an oppositionist is supposed to be difficult."

This resonated a deeper thinking in me because I applied this thought to my life. As someone who dreams of being in the media industry, it is important that I stick to my guns and not have my morality swayed by the trends of the public. How can I be loud and proud about the things in the world that I dont necessarily agree with without the fear of encountering hardship along the way? There is always going to be people that disagree with me, but that doesn't mean I need to be quiet. In the text he spells this idea out very clearly; "A shameful terror reigns, the bravest turn cowards, and no one dares say what he thinks for fear of being denounced as a traitor and a bribe-taker. The few newspapers which at first stood out for justice are now crawling in the dust before their readers…" As someone with a say in the news and trends, they should feel more responsible in their duty to be a voice of the people, not a generic voice that the mass population can simply accept as truth.

In his story about his friend who stood up for the black individual in the military, it shows that there doesn't need to be a giant group of supporters behind you in order to inflict change. One voice can speak to the minds of many, and the power of courage beats the power of numbers any day. "As so often, the determination of one individual was enough to dishearten those whose courage was mob-derived."This is inspiring, to say the least. After reading this it made me want to find my passion and share it with the world. I believe this was the point of the chapter, to instill an urge to break the norms and share individuality and opposition within society. This is the only way that we can change things in the world; we need to speak up.

Hitchens ends the chapter with an inspiring quote on opposition… "It is something you are, and not something you do." Hopefully one day I will find my inner oppositionist and be strong in my attempts to change the world.