We ought to stand up and look the world frankly in the face. We ought to make the best we can of the world, and if it is not so good as we wish, after all it will still be better than what these others have made of it in all these ages. A good world needs knowledge, kindliness, and courage; it does not need a regretful hankering after the past or a fettering of the free intelligence by the words uttered long ago by ignorant men. It needs a fearless outlook and a free intelligence. It needs hope for the future, not looking back all the time toward a past that is dead, which we trust will be far surpassed by the future that our intelligence can create.
An amazing quote I found from Bertrand Russel's lecture "Why I am not a Christian". A very good work, though slightly dated (It was presented in 1927). At the beginning he concentrates on debunking arguments for god's existence, which is nothing particularly difficult or novel. But towards the end he becomes more persuasive, making an argument for why we, as a society, must not be impeded by outdated and pernicious ideas. He makes the same points that many of the "new atheists" make, which really makes me doubt that there's anything "new" about them. But new or old, it's definitely worth a read.
—cts