My sister Kate teachers Atheism at a community college in rural Alabama. "All the gods are phony," she says. "But not useless. Affiliation is the brightest mirror we have to reflect humanity's frailty. Every god ever known is exactly as angry and as bitter as the person who worships it. Their aspirations are our own; their insecurities echo through us."
Like most of the atheists I know, Kate is remarkably pragmatic. "Progressives should arm themselves," she says. "You can’t kill fascists with an NPR tote bag."
All of my sisters are fierce, but Kate is the fiercest.