I make no apologies for the fact that my favorite atheist writer has always been, and likely always will be, Christopher Hitchens. There are others who have said and written things that I find inspiring, thoughtful, and even humorous at times, but Hitch is my go to guy when I'm having a bad day, and I feel the need to seek inspiration. This morning, as I wake for yet another day working with the children of the American Taliban, knowing I still have three full days before I can truly rest, I found myself reading Hitchen's looking for something that spoke to me and I ran across this gem. "If I'm in a political argument, I think I can, with reasonable accuracy and without boasting, put the other person's side of the case at least as well as they could. One has to be able to say that in any well-conducted argument."
I am teaching my 10th graders about civil disobedience this week in relation to Sophocles' Antigone and it's a mine field as I try to balance the writings of Thoreau and the actions of Ghandi, MLK, and more recent actions against a generation raised by people who fear that teaching 'both sides' will brainwash their children. I needed Hitch's words and once again he left something that eases my mind. I miss him and hope that there's a new Hitch somewhere out there that I haven't yet discovered.
Do you have a specific atheist writer who inspires you to do more? If so, who and what have they said that you found helpful?