An etherealgirl's Adventures in Cyberland

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

peace and tolerance: a matter of simple intention

The rightwing fundies love to bandy about with utter disdain, the words secular humanists, and I assume that the disdain comes from the notion that secular humanists do not proclaim a belief in God, or perhaps more specifically the rightwing fundie understanding of God (in fact, secular humanists can include agnostics and pantheists in their ranks as well as atheists).

So for anyone who doesn't know exactly what a secular humanist is, this is a good place to start.

As with all the great religions, there is a code of ethics for humanists and not surprisingly, as with all the great religions, if one were to follow them, a great many problems our planet faces would cease to exist:

A Humanist Code of Ethics:

Do no harm to the earth, she is your mother.
Being is more important than having.
Never promote yourself at another's expense.
Hold life sacred; treat it with reverence.
Allow each person the dignity of his or her labor.
Open your home to the wayfarer.
Be ready to receive your deepest dreams;
sometimes they are the speech of unblighted conscience.
Always make restitutions to the ones you have harmed.
Never think less of yourself than you are.
Never think that you are more than another.

---- Arthur Dobrin


What could unify us all is so simple, and yet, we have convinced ourselves that it is impossible to achieve. I don't really believe that. But until a majority of us are able to stop believing in the impossibility of a peaceful and tolerant planet, the mess we are mired in remains our core reality.

What separates us from each other and from our often small and superficial differences, has been allowed to be blown out of proportion, made into hysterical, delusional professions of faith, that make small and cruel the supposed source of all. When that frankly flawed vision of Creator becomes more important than the desire for peace, tolerance, ethical treatment of our fellow human beings, all creatures and our very planet, then there is something very, very wrong about that vision.

It's very simple; it is only our intentions and our allegiances to things that make us inhumane that make it difficult.

Posted by etherealfire :: 4:13 PM :: 3 Comments:

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