The Affirmations of Humanism

A Statement of Principles:

• We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems.
• We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation.
• We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life.
• We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities.
• We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state.
• We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding.
• We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.
• We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves.
• We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.
• We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species.
• We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest.
• We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.
• We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity.
• We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.
• We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion.
• We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences.
• We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos.
• We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking.
• We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others.
• We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.
• We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings.

http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=main&page=affirmations

The recent "rise" of Islam

About the homeless problem

My brother used to employ this bright, educated guy from South America who eventually ended up living on the streets of Los Angeles. He would still talk to him because this bright fellow would swing by occasionally to ask "for a cup of coffee". That’s how my brother found out that at least in Downtown LA, homeless people don’t worry too much about things that we think they normally would, food and shelter for instance. Besides a number of missions run in the area, there are several private, independent food drives going on all the time, this bright fellow always ate more than enough, I know, I saw him several times too. They give them clothes, they have toilets, showers and job training available, some of them even get a monthly cash allowance from the government.

Most of these men and women though have lost all hope for the future, a large percentage of them even suffer from a number of mental illnesses. You see, at least in some areas the problem is not so much there being enough money or who is willing to help or not, but a system that will always produce such excess, collateral damage you might call it. The price we have to pay to be able to sit comfortably at home discussing the issue online, sipping on a cool or warm drink, and feeling thankful that it was them and not us...

Being completely honest with myself...

Being completely honest with myself I am forced to admit that there is absolutely no empirical or material or logical observational proof for any supernatural beings or being.

I have no logical reason either scientific or empirical for believing in a GOD or GODS.

I do in fact believe very much that there is a Supreme being.

But I have no logical sensible reason for doing so.

My belief is solely rooted in emotionalism and personal faith, not logic or reason.

I like the idea of an all powerful being watching over me who is in control of the universe. It comforts me and enables me to get through daily life.

You can read all the Bibles and Q'urans and Torahs and such that you want to but at the end of the day you are in the same boat with me.

YOu believe in your interpretation of GOD or GODS because it makes you feel better, not because you actually have a single shred of proof.

See, that's why I don't take extreme actions on behalf of the GOD I believe in, because at the end of the day I have no proof such a being exists.

And I would feel damned silly doing harmful things for a being or beings that may not even be real.

Government Issue Joanne

For Sale: Kidney in Good Condition

Six thousand American dollars, sometimes even less, is what drives very desperate and very poor individuals to sell one of their kidneys.

The practice is not only brutal but extremely unfair to the very people who sacrifice the most. It is also illegal around the world, which in turn generates a very lucrative black market of international proportions. Sadly, those responsible not only profit from human misery but usually get away with little more than a slap on the wrist.

"The purchase of organs from living persons or the provision of economic incentives to the kin of deceased donors, has been opposed by many international medical and human rights organizations*. In 1985, 1987, and again in 1994" (Scheper). Which of course does nothing to prevent the situation since these procedures usually take place in countries like South Africa, a true "paradise" for the specialty, with their state of the art medical facilities and their relaxed laws to enforce sanctions or prosecute criminally. (MacLaughin, Prusher).

In the meantime those who "donate" their organs face a gloomy dilemma: Can they afford not to do it? Six thousand dollars in a country like Brazil or The Philippines can be a great opportunity to escape the desperate conditions they live in. It certainly can buy not only a lot of food but a decent roof too for the humble houses they’re confined to.

"Transplant tourism".

The situation in Eastern Europe is even worse. With entire networks of physicians, transplant centers, traveling facilitators, interpreters, and scores of greedy "donors", who in extreme cases offer their own relatives, specially young children for the carnage. (Vaknin)

It is argued that the practice fills a much desperate need, that too many people die hopelessly from lack of proper donors, if at all available. Waiting periods can go on for years, and specially with kidneys, the medical expenses are simply prohibitive for most patients. It is much cheaper in the long run to just buy the organ than to spend a fortune in dialysis which "will only prolong their agony anyway".

Is there a solution to the problem then? Organ trafficking results from ridiculously long waiting lists and the much better quality of live donations, not to mention the extreme financial situation of those who sell them. Some propose that the practice should be legalized and regulated but then ethical issues come to the negotiating table, much more sensitive than the ones involved already. Human blood and plasma are sold after all in many countries and we seem to have become fairly accustomed to the idea, perhaps regulated organ sale isn’t such a bad idea after all…

MacLaughin, Abraham. "What is a Kidney worth?" The Christian Science Monitor.

Scheper, Nancy. "The Global Traffic in Human Organs".

Vaknin, Sam. "Organ Trafficking in Eastern Europe". United Press International.