Are there Atheists in Pandemics?
We've all heard the line "There are no atheists in foxholes," but are there any in pandemics? Before l I get to that, whenever hear the snide foxhole remark I immediately think of the comedian's one-liner: "I became an atheist because there are no atheists in foxholes." As an old antiwar activist, I can appreciate that. Anyway, I'm confident that atheists have been in foxholes, even though, fortunately, I've neither been in one nor have been anywhere near one. I'm confident about this, though, because we know there have been atheists on deathbeds. The late Christopher Hitchens comes to mind. As for pandemics, you just need to look on YouTube to find atheists persevering during these trying times. What we need during a pandemic are all kinds of people -- medical personnel, policymakers, and just regular folks -- who are uncompromisingly committed to reason. Atheism is really nothing more than an implication of such a commitment. Atheism is