You remember Rebecca Vitsmun, the Oklahoma native whose family survived the nasty tornado this past spring. During an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, she had this notable exchange:

Blitzer: Well, you’re blessed. Brian, your husband, is blessed. Anders is blessed… and I guess you gotta thank the Lord, right? Do you thank the Lord? For that split-second decision?
Vitsmun: I… I… I’m… I’m actually an atheist… [Laughs]
Blitzer: Oh, you are! [Laughs] But you made the right call!
Vitsmun: Yeah, yep. We are here! And, you know, I don’t blame anybody for thanking the Lord.
Blitzer: Of course not.
It was fantastic 🙂
At the Atheist Alliance of America 2013 National Convention this past weekend, Vitsmun spoke about the disaster, the aftermath, and TIME magazine’s Joe Klein. (Skip to the 12:00 mark to hear the actual speech!)
In the last few minutes of the video, Vitsmun receives a well-deserved — and perfectly-titled — award. If only we could all have that sort of courage to admit we’re atheists when there’s so much pressure to do otherwise.
(via Steve Ahlquist)