Religion is man-made. Even the men who made it cannot agree on what their prophets or redeemers or gurus actually said or did.

What better way for a ruling class to claim and hold power than to pose as the defenders of the nation.

The great thing about the United States and the historically magnetic effect it has had on a lot of people like me is its generosity, to put it simply.

There is almost no country in Africa where it is not essential to know to which tribe, or which subgroup of which tribe, the president belongs. From this single piece of information you can trace the lines of patronage and allegiance that define the state.

I try to deny myself any illusions or delusions, and I think that this perhaps entitles me to try and deny the same to others, at least as long as they refuse to keep their fantasies to themselves.

Ordinary morality is innate in my view.

If I could do just one thing, it would be to dissociate faith from virtue, now and for good, and to expose it for what it is, a servile weakness, a refuge in cowardice, and a willingness to follow, with credulity, people who are in the highest degree unscrupulous.