“It’s that simple. Ask yourself: Do I think there’s a supernatural being in charge of the universe? If you answer “no,” you’re an atheist. That’s it—you’re done. No suing, signing, marching, debating, or tweeting required. You don’t have to do anything with that information. But if you do choose to share it, you may find you know far more atheists than you thought.” Kate Cohen
If I had to put one female on the top of the list of the most influential atheists for me, it would be Kate Cohen. Her book "We of Little Faith" was in one word... HOPE! Hope that outing myself one day, to more than my blog, my online communities and the occasional drop in a frustrated conversation, just might be achievable for me.
I think I am scared of people. What other explanation do I have that keeps me from being honest? I must be scared of them. The other option is low self-esteem. Maybe I still don't feel like my perspective matters as a whole. Maybe in my own world it does, but when I step out of my space into someone else's space, I am a lot more cautious. It's not because I think people's opinion is more valid than mine. I can see through a lot of bullshit now, but that doesn't mean I am good at calling it out. Kate thinks if I can... I "should". Now I just have to figure out if I can... then doing it might actually be possible.
I think I am extra scared of old people. My general response to old people (80+) is that if they have spent their whole life embracing one religious viewpoint, what right do I have to rock the boat now when they are so close to death? Maybe they need their fantasies to breathe. I can't offer my mom a community outside of her faith, so my only option is to support her in her faith. And right now that means, not muddying up the water with my thoughts.
I think if my lifelong Mennonite Great Uncle Don. He was 99 when he died. I almost outed myself to him on a few occasions, because he actually asked my opinion and wanted to know what I thought. Most don't ask me. I didn't want to burst his bubble either, so I learned how to do a lot of redirecting. But in the end, the one thing I passed on to him was that love was more important than anything else. That was the foundation. I couldn't honestly agree with him that I thought that was "God"... but I emphasized the word love and he was good with that.
Kate asked a question in her book that still troubles me. "Can you be a real friend of someone with whom you won't be honest?" That doesn't seem like a "yes" or "no" question for me... at least it doesn't right now.
I will leave you with two Kate Cohen interviews I found very inspiring. One with Seth Andrews on "The Thinking Atheist" and one with Alan Alda on "Clear and Vivid". As hard as her advice is to take, her voice is one that needs to be heard.
