1994
My Pears Cyclopedia for 1993-1994 has this to say about Humanism in its "Ideas and Beliefs" section:
"[Beliefs include:] release from ecclesiastical authority, the liberation of the intellect, faith in progress, the belief that man himself can improve his own conditions without supernatural help and, indeed has a duty to do so. "Man is the measure of all things" is the keynote of humanism. The humanist has faith in man's intellectual and spiritual resources not only to bring knowledge and understanding of the world but to solve the moral problems of how to use that knowledge. That man should show respect to man irrespective of class, race or creed is fundamental to the humanist attitude to life. Among the fundamental moral principles he would count those of freedom, justice, tolerance and happiness.
Today the idea that people can live an honest, meaningful life without following a formal religious creed of some kind does not seem particularly shocking."
[Pause for every evangelist to cry out, "But that's what we stand for too!" Sigh.]
Well I guess that sort of goes for me, except I have big doubts that man will improve his own conditions. Sometimes, watching East Germans attack a large concrete wall or IRA assassins laying down their arms, I think maybe we will achieve that end anyway, without much of a clue of how we're doing it. Other times, watching the news from Yugoslavia and the Gulf, I don't believe we have a chance. If we all lived in the perfect world, we'd be bored sick of it inside a month. There will always be someone who wants more than their share; to be precise, there are two people - me and you.
Yes, I believe in respect for all regardless of race, gender, sexuality and belief. Unfortunately, I also want to punch the living daylights of anyone who disagrees with what seems a perfectly reasonable concept to my mind. At the very least, I will adopt that sneering tone of sarcasm and contempt that you will not find listed in "How to win friends and influence people". I'm not sure how this fits into my avowed intention to leave this planet in a slightly better state than when I arrived on it (I'm leaving as soon as I can get the mothership repaired).
As for the last paragraph, humanistic ideas may not seem particularly shocking but they are rarely catered for today. Although statistics show that more and more people are describing themselves as atheist or agnostic, many social mores and customs still revolve around the idea of a Christian God. Anyone who has stood in church during a wedding ceremony and idly gazed about them feeling like a bacon sandwich at a vegetarian picnic while the vicar leads others in song or prayer can attest to this. I could contribute a verse or two of "Eight Days a Week" by Lennon/McCartney (a song that contains more joyous love in one note than an entire hymn book traps within its pages), but I doubt anyone would be grateful. Especially not with my voice.
No vegetarian expects to attend a meal these days without being offered an appropriate menu, yet atheists are regularly expected to muck in with another sycophantic celebration of inferiority. The thread runs from your christening, which many parents still seem to feel is an essential family tradition regardless of their own (lack of) beliefs, through formal religious teaching in school to the numerous social gatherings of adulthood. As recently as last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury announced that it didn't matter how charitably and kindly an atheist acted, it still wasn't good enough to admit them to heaven. I'm sure we're all really torn up about not getting into somewhere we don't believe exists anyway. Piss off, baldy, quit ragging on my efforts. Whilst a religious believer is first and loudest to complain about any persecution of their beliefs, no one affords atheists the same courtesy. Believe it or not, it is possible to offend someone who has "no beliefs", other than a deep conviction that there is no god, and no interest in gaining any. You just shout endlessly about your own wacky ideas and refuse to live and let live; that narks me every time. These heathen ideas will be explored more fully in my forthcoming essay, "Throw them to the lions".
If a few more people spent some time improving this life instead of fretting over the next one, we might all enjoy it a little more.
1994
