Something new is happening!

It is the North American New Humanist Forum that will take place in New York City November 16, 17, and 18. All are invited! Are you interested in helping to map out new directions for real democracy in this hemisphere? Come to this event and participate! I will! I hope to be a speaker or a panelist or as a member of a working group.

Information about this important gathering of concerned Humanists can be found on the Web site of the North American New Humanist Forum (NANHF).

Scheduled speakers will include representatives from many different countries, and working groups will be discussing new approaches to various issues and problems. I’ve had contact with the sponsoring group previously, and was much impressed with the scope of their Humanist activities in the community. The group has been referred to as Siloists. The name Siloist is used to describe those have been inspired by the teachings of the Argentinean philosopher, Mario Rodríguez Cobos, also know as Silo. Because there seemed to have been some misunderstanding about the group’s origin and intent, I wrote an article that was posted several years ago on the Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York Web site, discussing some of the issues, and inviting a humanist dialogue between the Siloists and the non-Siloists. This will be just such an opportunity to discuss our areas of agreement and explore any differences.

This article entitled The Other Humanists, can be found here.

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Humanist Healing for the Woes of the World

Planet Earth, the home of all living things and life as we know it, is in mortal danger.

Humanist Healing Brochure (cover page).Fundamentalist religious fanaticism, greed, and exploits of empire, have brought us to this brink. The Humanist Philosophy respects and embraces the efforts of all caring persons, of all faiths, of all ethnicities, of all traditions, of all nations, who take responsibility, for trying to make changes to improve the perilous conditions of Humankind, working together to foster understanding among the diverse Peoples of Earth, working toward the development of a respectful, lawful, equitable, compassionate and care-taking Culture of Peace that most of Earth’s Peoples long for. Strangely, some beliefs hold to ancient notions of vengeful deities that champion one segment of humanity over another, giving rise to fears and hatreds, militarism, fascism, violence, vengeance, exploitation, inequities, and injustices that still abound, endangering our survival as a species, jeopardizing the lives of our children, grandchildren and all future generations.

I am concerned about this danger and, as an individual, I have the power to raise my own voice in protest. I value Life; I love my own Family and the larger family of Humankind. I revere the Human Species, and believe in the right to peaceful pursuit of individual and societal happiness. I pledge to support the ideals of a Culture of Peace, and will encourage others to do likewise. I, therefore, pledge to take responsibility to promote the following Human Survival Principles:

I, personally, and as a representative of my own ethical perspective, life-stance or faith, pledge to act with courage, in all ways short of violence, to renounce and thwart the various adverse forces that have gained the power to dominate Earth and its inhabitants. I renounce all systems of repression, whether by governmental or economic control. I support only systems that are in the best shared-interest of all of Earth’s Peoples and of Earth itself. I, personally, renounce violence and vengeance as an option to redress grievances for wrongs done to me, my people, or my ancestors. I pledge to seek justice and compensation, never before feasible, through pursuit of new lawful means, consistent with the recognized principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations’ Responsibility to Protect, and the newly established International Criminal Court. These new tools must be fostered and ultimately established, for all times, promoting the pursuit of justice in every village and in every community. No longer will there be impunity for perpetrators of Crimes against Humanity. There will now be justice in the Courts! I pledge to support this goal.

I agree that technology, medicine, science and biology must be harnessed to serve only the best interests of all Humankind, whether it be our means of communicating freely with each other in the pursuit of truth and democracy, and the sharing of information regarding our common interests, or for the creation of power sources that do not damage Earth’s ecosystem or harm living things. Biotechnology must not modify or claim ownership of Earth’s bounty, and the benefits to Humankind in all of these areas must not be tied to a corrupt and capricious profit motive, enslaving the many and ignoring the most needy.

I pledge to work in behalf of the survival and best interests of Humankind right here and now, because I believe in the basic goodness of other human beings. I will willingly join with them in order to help to create a Culture of Peace, regardless of any known traditional beliefs that aspire to other worlds or any belief in end-times scenarios. I will not allow my name or my belief to be used to endorse actions that are contrary to my own personal beliefs. I will not allow my faith to be conscripted or construed in order to justify support for actions that are harmful to others, such as seeking retaliation and vengeance, or to justify terrorist acts, or the making of war against alleged and illusory enemies, with whom I have no quarrel. If my tradition aspires to a Heaven elsewhere, I will surely have earned my place in it as a Peacemaker. Meanwhile, I will do my best to help make Peace on Earth, and to keep my pledge in behalf of the Human Survival Principles. In doing so, I reach out my hand in respect for others of good will, showing that I hold no weapon or animosity, and expect that others will do likewise.

I recognize that we humans are more alike than we are different.

These Human Survival Principles are logical and important to me and I’m leaving a comment below. I’m adding my name to many others online at this Web site.

Here are two Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) versions of the Humanist Healing for the Woes of the World brochure, one intended for on-screen viewing (four pages) and the other designed for duplex printing (two pages).

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