Humanists- What’s Wrong with You?

Seriously Humanists, can we move past the ridiculous political ambitions that make absolutely no sense whatsoever? It seems nearly daily I can read an article put out by Humanists that makes me embarrassed to call myself one. Some of you who read this blog regularly think I’ve been hard on Christianity, and I suppose that’s true, however, I’m an equal opportunity complainer.

This discussion is taken from Humanism.org’s “Statement of New Humanism” (for some). For purposes of brevity, I will focus on only one section of this statement: their beliefs on democracy.

As for representative government, since the extension of universal suffrage people have believed that only a single act is involved when they elect their representative and their representative carries out the mandate received. But as time has passed, people have come to see clearly that there are in fact two acts: a first in which the many elect the few, and a second in which those few betray the many, representing interests foreign to the mandate they received.

True, to an extent. Representative Democracy is certainly not perfect. There never has been a perfect government, and let’s face it, there never will be. We must never forget that the people that are elected have ambitions of their own…We seem to expect a great extent of altruism from our elected officials, but are our expectations even remotely reasonable?

Humanists struggle to transform the practice of representative government, giving the highest priority to consulting the people directly through referenda, plebiscites, and direct election of candidates.

Are you freakin’ kidding me??? Someone else can do some research on the participation pathetic levels of the American people in Presidential elections, let alone the mid-term elections. You seriously want to consult the American people on issues such as waste disposal, how much to spend on Katrina cleanup, National infrastructure repairs, Covert military actions, and what day will be national “hug your cat” day? Everybody knows that any form of policy change toward direct democracy will be a huge disaster. It’s like Socialism- Sounds great in theory, works terribly. To be fair, they don’t seem to be arguing for direct democracy, however, they are talking about representative democracy reform. To what? Who will do the reforming? The representatives in power? I don’t think so.

And in order for there to be true equality of opportunity, during elections the news media must be placed at the service of the people, providing all candidates with exactly the same opportunities to communicate with the people.

I remember seeing something about “freedom of the press” somewhere.

To address the problem that elected officials regularly fail to carry out their campaign promises, there is also a need to enact laws of political responsibility that will subject such officials to censure, revocation of powers, recall from office, and loss of immunity.

Seriously? Who is going to enforce these laws? The elected officials?

As for directly consulting the people on the most urgent issues, every day the possibilities to do so increase through the use of technology. This does not mean simply giving greater importance to easily manipulated opinion polls and surveys. What it does mean is to facilitate real participation and direct voting by means of today’s advanced computational and communications technologies.

See above comments.

In sum, to give highest priority to the issues of capital and labor, real democracy, and decentralization of the apparatus of the State, is to set the political struggle on the path toward creating a new kind of society—a flexible society constantly changing in harmony with the changing needs of the people, who are now suffocated more each day by their dependence on an inhuman system.

So…how about giving a plan, rather than preaching the virtues. How are you going to create this “Utopian” society that is incredibly ridiculous.

Sorry for the rant, but when Humanists (or anyone for that matter) are more interested in picking apart the system, without having any ways to correct it, I get irritated. The same with my earlier post on Presidential Candidates. They say what’s wrong now, and what the ideal would be, but there’s no meat to it.

The Evil of Secular Humanism?

Secular Humanism as described by Encarta Dictionary:

nonreligious world view: a philosophy or world view that stresses human values without reference to religion or spirituality.

Seriously, what’s all the fuss about? It’s interesting to note that there is a fairly broad war going on between religions and humanism. Each side often accuses the other as evil, misguided, or at least the cause of the decline in our society (if there really is a decline).

I admit that I will often turn on a christian radio station, or sometimes even look to see what they’re talking about on TBN network just to hear what people are being “taught.” I have now seen one particular preacher on TBN going all out on the evils of secular humanists. They’re taking over the schools, they’re kicking God out of America. One day, after turning to a christian radio station, I heard a self-appointed “apostle” talking about the evils of secular humanists and how they’re all going to hell. The Humanists are “godless evil-doers” (I believe that was the exact phrasing). I realize that these two persons are just an example, and don’t necessarily represent the entire religious community, but they do represent a significant portion.

On the humanists side, there are many who will associate religion with war and general violence. “All wars are over religion,” “Christians bomb abortion clinics,” and “Christians are homophobic and protest funerals” are all arguments that one can hear made by humanists. Again, while parts of these statements do ring true, they don’t represent the majority. I have known many heartfelt Christians that believe homosexuality is a sin, but would never dream of protesting a funeral, or even making their beliefs known in polite conversation.

The point of these two previous paragraphs is to demonstrate that what is usually reported on television or radio is often the case of a few nut-cases. Then, each side blows the issues out of proportion and applies the labels to general groups. This is unfortunate.

I am a humanist. I suppose in some ways I could be considered a “secular” humanist because I don’t believe that religion has to play a part in public policy and public schools. While I do believe in a creator, I generally keep my beliefs to myself, save for this blog. I believe in every person’s right to believe what they will, however, those beliefs should not play a part in public services such as schools. I have no problem with students taking bibles to school and praying. However, the issue changes when the school takes the lead in bible reading and prayer. That becomes state-instituted religion. Indeed, it seems to me that “religious right” proclaim loudly, in response to criticisms or questions by humanists, that God gave humanity “free-will.” God did not want a bunch or robots dedicating their lives to him because then it’s not freely choosing. I understand and appreciate that. Let’s apply it to schools then…If the school is leading prayer and bible reading, doesn’t that necessarily indoctrinate students into Christian teaching, taking away their free will?

Christians will argue that Evolution is taught as fact in most schools instead of a theory. I understand this too. Theories should be taught as theories. This would include creationism as well. Whatever a 6000 year old book says, creationism is still a theory. We cannot teach evolution or creation as wholly true without risking intellectual dishonesty. However, they are both important to understand the different ideas of how we came to be.

Secular humanists are not out to destroy America. They are not all socialists (yes, there are some). The majority are not even out to destroy the idea of God in society. They may not believe in God, or they may, but they recognize that it’s personal and really has no place in public services and politics. The vitriolic attacks on both sides of the issue are really pointless and debilitating. Christians, you’re not losing America by not having prayer in schools. Teach the kids about God at home and in church. Humanists, stop being so defensive when someone wants to pray to God or keep “one nation under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance. If you don’t believe it, fine, but it really comes down to semantics and each side feeling threatened by the other.

It is stupid.

The Enemy of Humanity

Okay, so the title is a little overstated. I don’t actually believe that the device of which I am writing is really the enemy of humanity, however, I do believe the we as humans are in fact in serious danger. So, what is the device about which I write? Why, Television of course!

Actually, another little disclaimer here. Just like nearly everything else, it’s not the use of television that’s the problem, it’s the abuse of television. I have recently heard some startling statistics describing the amount of hours of television people watch on an average day. I do not offer these statistics here, as I don’t have the necessary documentation, but I imagine most everybody has heard these sort of statistics in the past.

Instead, I want my focus to be on what we’re not doing while watching television.

1. Actively engaging our mind
2. Spending quality time with family
3. Coming up with new and creative ideas
4. Questioning
5. Spending time in nature
6. Pursuing hobbies
7. Effectively exercising our bodies
8. Attempting to learn that which we don’t know
9. Contemplating spiritual matters
10. Effective relaxation

While there are doubtless hundreds of other things we could be doing, I am seriously concerned with the amount of time we spend watching the real or imaginary lives of others instead of living our own lives. I will be the first to admit that I watch television. I try to limit it to about 1 hour a day, but let’s face it, there are days where I sit in front of the brain vacuum and let it do it’s thing.

We as a species are capable of so much. I firmly believe that. The wasting of time however, is probably one of the largest “sins” we as humans can make. While it is a difficult thing for me to keep in mind, I don’t get the time back that I waste in front of a television. While I understand there are great educational programs on, still, it is so much better for us to use those programs as additions to the study in which we have already been engaged.

I think that when we watch too much television, we lose a sense of reality, at least for that amount of time. We get caught up in the program and forget about life happening all around us. We don’t have to be constantly engaged in activity to enjoy life, but we do at least need to be aware of it.

How did you spend last evening? Was it enjoying time playing a game, laughing, and talking to your family? Or did you get “quality” family time sitting in front of a T.V.

Please understand, I’m not a T.V. nazi. I’m just thinking about what I could be accomplishing spiritually, professionally, or in relationships when I instead choose to drain my brain.

The Problem with Humanism- No Borders

In some Humanist circles, the idea of nationality is regarded as a severe roadblock to human progress. There are many humanists that cosider themselves “world citizens” before claiming any nationality. While I undestand this view, I cannot go along with it.

Nationality plays too large a role in our world to even consider the prospect of doing away with it. Citizens, including me, are extremely proud to hail from their country of origen. I think nationality affects our lives in more ways than we realize. Political beliefs, religious beliefs, social norms, views of the rest of the world, cultural relations are all affected by nationality. Consider how differently citizens of other countries view world events.

Nationality also can give people a sense of pride and loyalty. How many of us rally behind our nation’s team every time the Olympics come around. How about national achievements in Science, the respect of a nation’s flag, the history surrounding your country? All of these things, along with many others, help to make nationality very important. On some level, nearly everyone can feel some sense of belonging as a citizen of their country.

When considering that some Humanists believe that a borderless world would bring us all closer, we have to take all of these points into account. What do we have in common with every other person in the world? Humanity. The fundamental issues that lead to war, primarily religion and politics, will in no way be lessened by a borderless world.

What Does it Mean to be Educated?

Seriously, what does it mean?

If I’m an educated person, does it mean that I have a college degree? A high school diploma? How about a Master’s degree or perhaps a Doctorate? Where is the bar?

The reason I ask is that I have a different view of education than that of our business culture. I believe that the fact that I have a college degree doesn’t make me any more educated than someone who doesn’t. What it does mean is that I’ve put in the time, effort, and money required to achieve that degree.

Our culture is very laden with people that have obtained college degrees, and don’t seem to be any better or smarter than many people without them. Too many times in the workplace, I’ve wondered “how did that person get to his/her position?” Likely, others have wondered the same about me as well. Let’s face it though, the requirements for many jobs today include a college diploma. However, it seems as though many people decide to quit learning upon completion of their degree program and attainment of a job that suits their purposes. It’s really too bad.

I don’t believe that school truly educates anybody. I believe that school, if the student takes the opportunity, will train that student to learn. Teachers are there to help with obtaining wisdom, not to pound it into the student.

So what does it mean to be educated? In my view, an educated person knows what he or she doesn’t know, and knows how to take the steps necessary to obtain the required information. There are certainly fields in the professional world that require specialized schools (Medical, engineering, Science), however, for the average person not going into a specialized industry, I truly believe that one of the best ways to gain the ability to become educated is through the Liberal Arts.

The Liberal Arts are quite demanding, not only in workload, but also in thinking and reasoning skills required. To gain understanding through reading and writing is, I believe, the best and fastest way to become educated. The Liberal Arts truly are fields where the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.