_______________ET TU, CHRISTOPHER? BY SUSAN LEHMAN (02/11/99)

These are difficult days surely. For a writer once gutsy enough to call into question Mother Teresa's motivations and contacts, he's taken sides with powers more immediately malevolent to Americans than the tin pot dictators who shared the stage with the Calcutta nun. But I guess in Christopher Hitchens' world, he could justify his actions as well as Teresa did in hers. The rest of us, unfortunately, are left with a snitch. Over the last few years, I wanted to believe in many of Hitchens' various causes and rants, not in the least his defense of George Orwell. Now, in the light of his betrayal of a friend, I must conclude the opposite -- that Orwell was indeed an embittered snitch, in whom Hitchens saw a dim reflection of himself. But even there, his hero worship and ultimate emulation falls with a thud. While Orwell's betrayal of socialists and communists was done in the teeth of Stalinist oppression and the sickening rationalization of the dictator's crimes by many on the left -- thereby making snitching a horrible act done under mitigating, if not exculpatory, circumstances -- Hitchens can make no such claim. Obviously, President Clinton in his darkest moments is no Stalin; he is not even a Nixon. The president may be worthy of contempt, but I would hope, not worthy of self-immolation. Yet in assuming so, at the expense of friends, reason and career, Hitchens has fundamentally compromised his role, his credibility and his voice. I hope that Salon, the Nation and Vanity Fair drop Hitchens, if not because of a breech of ethics, then because his actions echo that terrible era of mistrust, back-stabbing and, ultimately, state-sponsored sanctions on friendship. By continuing to employ Hitchens you don't maintain free speech, but you encourage those who sign affidavits on behalf of those who seek to stifle it. I hope that all of the magazines come to the right decision, if not, I would encourage a boycott. I, for one, do not want to live through an age of "Hitchensism," where a Ken Starr and his ilk can so easily compel us to rat on sources, mothers and friends under the threat of state punishment. -- Jay Brida Boston I'd like to congratulate Hitchens on his graduation from The Linda Tripp School of Backstabbing Your Friend. May he reap the same rewards as Tripp did -- banishment from the human race! Maybe they can start dating! I'm sure the Republicans will praise him, as they did Tripp, for being an outstanding citizen. Only, in his case it would be outstanding alien. -- C.B. Abrams Louisville, Ky. Why should any sentient human being give a flying rat's ass about the rupture between Christopher Hitchens and Sidney Blumenthal? To those engrossed by this "story," a few suggestions: 1) Take a stroll. Enjoy the sunshine. 2) Knock back a few beers. 3) Re-acquaint yourself with your kids. And, above all, ponder the insignificance of your present pursuits. This isn't even a footnote to a footnote. -- Doug Wyatt Savannah, Ga. N E X T+P A G E+| SimCity 3000: A cynical take on power and politics. Plus: Disputing the facts on university technology licensing