Who do you want to be?

A better question is: what sort of person do you want to be?

We all have a self image. We see ourselves as a certain sort of person.  Usually, we are the heros of any story or conflict. We are doing good, or what we think is good. Most of us value compassion, honesty and ethical behavior.

But how many of us really live up to our values in the day to day struggle of living? Do you cut corners?  Are you compassionate with the people in front of you at the supermarket?  Do you cheat on your taxes?  How about telling little white lies to get a discount somewhere?

We all take short cuts in our daily lives.  What I want you to consider is why?  And whether you should continue.

Who do you want to be? Really. What is it you value? Then I want you to ask yourself when confronted with ethical dilemmas, what would the ideal you do in this situation?  Once you know the answer to that question, you know what you should do.

There is nothing stopping you from being a better you except you. So don’t take short cuts. Chose to do the right thing.

If you find you are having trouble changing, consider learning more about the science of how behaviors are changed. It really can help: https://humanistlearning.com/change1/

How many Humanists are there?

Question:

Is it proper that humanist organizations count (more or less) all non-religious people as humanists?

My answer: 

I don’t think it’s proper. We should be counting those who share our philosophy, not just people who are irreligious.  The British Humanist Association commissioned a study once and found that something like 36% of British people shared the majority of the Humanist philosophy for instance. https://humanism.org.uk/humanism/the-humanist-tradition/20th-century-humanism/  I suspect this number is probably pretty consistent regardless of what country you go to as humanist values are very common. In fact, global studies of ethics back that up. The only really contentious part of the philosophy is the rejection of supernaturalism as a problem solving technique.

Now – just because I don’t think we should label people as Humanist just because they are irreligious doesn’t mean I don’t think that Humanist groups don’t have a good reason to count the non-religious. In many societies being non-religious means being a 2nd class citizen. So there are human rights concerns for the entire non-religious population that need to be addressed.

The other reason to talk about the number of irreligious is because we do reject supernaturalism and theological beliefs as a way to solve problems. Meaning, we think the best sort of problem solving is secular or reality based problem solving. To convince people it’s OK to approach problem solving this way it does help to provide social validation that this is a common way to problem solve. We aren’t just saying this works – look at all the other people who reject supernaturalism too!  We do this to normalize and create acceptance for non-belief. This accomplishes a triple goal – reduce the stigma against non-belief so we personally can openly be non-religious, reduce the level of violence directed at the non-religious, and encourage people and society to use critical thinking when problem solving.

One Ginormous Family

Humanists recognize that we are all humans. Regardless of our differences. And that our common humanity matters.

Happy New Year. I don’t normally suggest resolutions for people. I tend to think that we should be changing our behavior as needed all year long. Regardless, I do have one suggestion for a resolution that  I think it would help you to adopt.

Resolve to remember that we are all one big ginormous family. You are genetically related to all the other humans, plans and animals on the planet. You are created out of the same building blocks that make up our universe.

Just like any family, there may be times when we don’t get along. However, ultimately, we do share a home with all the other life on earth and we would be wise to make the best of it and not tear down our house in an attempt to control everyone else.  After all, if we tear down our house out of spite, we will be left with nowhere to live and that would be incredibly short sited.

So, whether your current cause of angst is politics, interpersonal relationships or ecological, always remember, we are all part of one ginormous family and we owe it to ourselves to make an effort to get along.

Have you reached out to others beyond your comfort zone lately? How did it go?