Hyperbole is the language of the fool, fearmonger, and gossip, Humility is the language of the wise.

I use a lot of Hyperbole I have to admit, in fact, I would claim it is a significant deterrent to my effectiveness as a communicator.  It is always so tempting to lash out at ones perceived enemies with exaggeration or even spin on words and phrases to imply serious insult or harm to their credibility.

I found myself criticising conservative pundit Glen Beck for this, when while pointing my finger at him, I failed to notice the three fingers pointing back at me.

If our goal is to achieve peace and prosperity for all humans, to eliminate poverty and advance science and health for all, advancing our species to higher plains of understanding...

One of our greatest enemies is our own tendency towards hyperbole. "Cheney is Satan" is equally as unhelpful as "Obama is Hitler" to the cause of either the "left" or the "right".

I need to avoid it myself, I tend to make idiotic, emotionally charged statements like "religious people love to eat jesus" and "religious people are insane" etc.  Neither of those statements encourage tolerance and compassion for my fellow human beings, and I need to realize whatever ideology I embrace, a mutual respect for others and a measured, compassionate, well thought out approach to speaking is far more effective at fighting religious extremism and fundamentalist dogma.

My challenge for myself and other atheists is to be wise and compassionate in our speech, and differenciate ourselves from our detractors with our patience, our love, and our understanding for others and ourselves.