I’m not that often moved by something I read on the web, but Natalie Angier‘s account of why she is raising her child as an atheist did. (Thanks to 3quarks daily for the link). The whole thing is a heartening read, but the bit I particularly liked was this:
“…’One of the first things you learn in science’, one Caltech biologist told me, ‘is that how you want it to be doesn’t make any difference’. This is a powerful principle, and a very good thing, even a beautiful thing. This is something we should embrace as the best part of ourselves, our willingness to see the world as it is, not as were told it is, nor as our confectionary fantasies might wish it to be.”