Daniel Bell, whose book The End of Ideology shaped the way many of us think about politics, has died at the age of 91. This nice anecdote comes from the NYTimes obit.

Mr. Bell liked to tell of his political beginnings with an anecdote about his bar mitzvah, in 1932. “I said to the Rabbi: ‘I’ve found the truth. I don’t believe in God. I’m joining the Young People’s Socialist League.’ So he looked at me and said, ‘Kid, you don’t believe in God. Tell me, do you think God cares?’ ”