Richard Dawkins on clarity.

I'm just watching Friday's Bill Maher. This quite by Dawkins really struck me.

Dawkins also pushed back against descriptions of him as a “militant” atheist, which Maher also said he did not believe.

“I think people mistake militancy for clarity,” Maher, also an atheist, told Dawkins. “I think you’re very clear on what you believe, and they misinterpret it as hostility.”

“Interesting you should say that — I actually think exactly that,” Dawkins replied. “Not in respect to me, but in general: clarity is threatening. People can’t bear clarity. They want you to weasel around and obscure. But if you’re clear, if you stand up and say clearly what you think and what you’re saying, then they will think you’re being threatening, aggressive, strident, shrill.”