Twitter is one of those rare things where I feel rewarded almost every time I use it. One of the things I like best about Twitter is how easy it is to find inspiration from my fellow atheists. Sometimes it is a great quote I haven't thought about in years. Other times, it is a news story I missed. And still other times, it is the sort of thought-provoking question I can never see too often. For example, Emily Dietle (@emilyhasbooks) recently asked a great question about the future of the atheist movement:

I'm a "worrier" & can't help but be concerned that our secular mvmt will fall flat when some of headliners die. Set me straight, folks...

I thought this was an interesting question. I've heard many variations of it before, but I'd never seen it phrased so succinctly (another advantage of Twitter). My response was:

That's a valid concern, but I think our strength is our grassroots and not the professional atheists.

In this post, I'd like to unpack what I meant a bit.

If you are a religious extremist and someone is doing something of which you do not approve, what do you do about it? You seek to ban whatever they are doing, of course. Don't approve of people buying alcohol on Sundays? Enact "blue laws" to prohibit anyone from doing so. Convinced that letting two loving adults of the same sex marry would somehow affect your own marriage? Pour money into state after state to support bans on same sex marriage.

I want to be the kind of atheist who does not pick fights with the religious but does not run from conflict when it is encountered either. I want to be the kind of atheist who defends secularism whenever necessary and recognizes that strengthening the wall of separation between church and state is of vital importance. I want to be the kind of atheist who models reason, critical thinking, and basing beliefs on evidence. I want to be the kind of atheist who can utilize anger effectively without getting carried away with it.