Afterword Summary and Analysis

Two quotes begin the "Afterword." The first, from Ralph Reed, chairman of Pat Robertson's fundamentalist Christian Coalition, speaking in 1995, refers to an undescribed position the Coalition has taken. Reed says the position is not partisan, but is based on the values of morality and compassion that Mother Teresa represents. The second is from an Ann Landers column in 1995. Someone writes to Ann Landers that when Mother Teresa was asked how people without money or power could make a difference in the world, she said they should smile more often. Ann Landers characterizes the nun's reply as "splendid." Hitchens writes that troubled people contact Ann Landers every day, and she responds with cheery, useless advice about seeking counseling, or speaking to their ministers, or pulling their socks up and looking on the bright side. Yet he thinks the advice he has quoted...