Christopher Hitchens

"The capacity for self-deception is infinite in all of us."

"Disagreement is not hate, and debate is not violence."

"Totalitarianism in the modern age requires the control of not just actions but thoughts."

"The ironic thing about irony is that people mistake it for cynicism."

"Don't accept the idea that you're fundamentally powerless."

"The love of learning is a love that wants nothing in return."

"If you don't read, you are as good as illiterate."

"The state should never have the power to decide how we educate our children morally."

"In matters of faith, the burden is always on the believer to prove the negative exists."

"There is a concept called 'blowback' that explains many of history's surprises."

"The surest way to work up a crusade in favor of some good cause is to promise people they will have the power to annoy and suppress those who disagree."

"Knowing neither the day nor the hour is the essence of the human condition."

"Art should challenge the comfortable and comfort the challenged."

"The search for meaning is more important than the meaning itself."

"Your rights are not given by government; they are inherent to your humanity."

"The most valuable thing in human relations is mutual respect earned through honesty."

"Memory is not an accurate record of what happened, but of how we felt."

"Science describes how things work; it does not and cannot answer why things matter."

"The greatest act of defiance is to live fully in the face of mortality."

"Nationalism is the mask that tribalism wears in the modern world."

"The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become absolutely free yourself."

"In the absence of evidence, you can't claim victory."

"The person who has read everything has lost the ability to think."

"Cowardice is the easy way out in matters of principle."

"History shows us that civilization is always one bad decision away from barbarism."

"Don't seek approval from those who don't understand you."

"The study of history teaches us that the future is unknowable but the past is negotiable."

"Manners are especially important when you're about to say something unpleasant."

"You can't make a deal with the devil when you don't believe in the devil."

"The mark of a free society is not the protection of popular speech but unpopular speech."