Rebuttal to Humanist ManifestoJim Berge Part Four: Democratic SocietyThe following quote is taken from the Humanist Manifesto II: SEVENTH: To enhance freedom and dignity the individual must experience a full range of civil liberties in all societies. This includes freedom of speech and the press, political democracy, the legal right of opposition to governmental policies, fair judicial process, religious liberty, freedom of association, and artistic, scientific, and cultural freedom. It also includes a recognition of an individual's right to die with dignity, euthanasia, and the right to suicide. We oppose the increasing invasion of privacy, by whatever means, in both totalitarian and democratic societies. We would safeguard, extend, and implement the principles of human freedom evolved from the Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights, the Rights of Man, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Human RightsThe arguments above encouraging dignity, freedom of religion and association, and legal right of opposition to governmental policies are all laudable. I see a contradiction, however, in the plea for political democracy. We read under the item entitled “NINTH” that “The state should encourage maximum freedom for different moral, political, religious, and social values in society.” By allowing “maximum freedom for different...political...values” in NINTH, then by insisting on “political democracy” in EIGHTH, a glaring contradiction is presented. In the same way, a plea for a “fair judicial process” is meaningless when understood in the light of situational ethics. Relativistic ethics can never lead to a fair judicial process, since the word “fair” is freely and uniquely interpreted by each and every individual as he or she sees fit.
Utopia?The Following quote is taken from the Humanist Manifesto II: EIGHTH: We are committed to an open and democratic society. We must extend participatory democracy in its true sense to the economy, the school, the family, the workplace, and voluntary associations. Decision-making must be decentralized to include widespread involvement of people at all levels - social, political, and economic. All persons should have a voice in developing the values and goals that determine their lives. Institutions should be responsive to expressed desires and needs. The conditions of work, education, devotion, and play should be humanized. Alienating forces should be modified or eradicated and bureaucratic structures should be held to a minimum. People are more important than decalogues, rules, proscriptions, or regulations. Extending “participatory democracy” to the family is a bad idea, because it implies an enforcer who is making sure that such a regulatory system is indeed being implemented within families. This would obviously turn into an egregious violation of privacy and human rights. The enforcement of many of the goals in this item could potentially cause an enormous violation of privacy so clearly condemned in “SEVENTH” above. Otherwise the EIGHTH item is by and large quite a commendable goal. The only other rebuttal for this item is to remind readers that the form of government for which we ought to struggle is a republic, not a democracy. Modern history has blurred the distinction between the two, but important differences exist. The majority vote is not always the correct and just one. The reader should familiarize himself or herself with the difference between these governmental ideals and be clear about what it is that has made America great, and what it will take to make her great again.
Separation of Church and StateThe Following quote is taken from the Humanist Manifesto II: NINTH: The separation of church and state and the separation of ideology and state are imperatives. The state should encourage maximum freedom for different moral, political, religious, and social values in society. It should not favor any particular religious bodies through the use of public monies, nor espouse a single ideology and function thereby as an instrument of propaganda or oppression, particularly against dissenters. The only relationship between church and state that would be considered constitutionally inappropriate is the promotion of a particular religion by the federal government, and with this humanists seem to agree. All other instances - including public displays by private individuals of nativity scenes and crosses, Buddha statues on street corners, Mosques in the cities and religious cult compounds in the Rocky Mountains - must be exempt from the absurd modern American notion of separation of church and state.
Economic Health vs. Quality of LifeThe Following quote is taken from the Humanist Manifesto II: TENTH: Humane societies should evaluate economic systems not by rhetoric or ideology, but by whether or not they increase economic well-being for all individuals and groups, minimize poverty and hardship, increase the sum of human satisfaction, and enhance the quality of life. Hence the door is open to alternative economic systems. We need to democratize the economy and judge it by its responsiveness to human needs, testing results in terms of the common good. It is not “economic systems” that affect quality of life, it is moral quality that affects economic systems. Given a capitalistic system filled only with generous and selfless people, none would be homeless, none hungry, none abused. In the most financially successful economic systems in the world there still exists human refuse who feed upon the system with no other goal than to obtain what they don't deserve, or to obtain more than the guy next door. While the goals stated in “TENTH” are wonderful to advocate, we need a more detailed definition of what “the common good” is, and how exactly we might judge an economic system “by its responsiveness to human needs.” Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without private, and public virtue is the only foundations of the republics. John Adams, Thoughts on Government (1776)
Discrimination and EqualityThe Following quote is taken from the Humanist Manifesto II: ELEVENTH: The principle of moral equality must be furthered through elimination of all discrimination based upon race, religion, sex, age, or national origin. This means equality of opportunity and recognition of talent and merit. Individuals should be encouraged to contribute to their own betterment. If unable, then society should provide means to satisfy their basic economic, health, and cultural needs, including, wherever resources make possible, a minimum guaranteed annual income. We are concerned for the welfare of the aged, the infirm, the disadvantaged, and also for the outcasts -- the mentally retarded, abandoned, or abused children, the handicapped, prisoners, and addicts - for all who are neglected or ignored by society. Practicing humanists should make it their vocation to humanize personal relations. This ELEVENTH item comprises four paragraphs, but we will address the first now. Since the debate over if, how and why welfare programs ought to exist will rage forever, we will not attempt to address the issue here. I agree that to provide for those who cannot help themselves is a biblical ideal, yet the task of identifying those truly in need remains very difficult. Provided some virtuous and reliable method is available through which to extend financial, social and emotional support, Christians and humanists could agree to such a program of public welfare.
The Following quote is taken from the Humanist Manifesto II: ELEVENTH, continued: We believe in the right to universal education. Everyone has a right to the cultural opportunity to fulfill his or her unique capacities and talents. The schools should foster satisfying and productive living. They should be open at all levels to any and all; the achievement of excellence should be encouraged. Innovative and experimental forms of education are to be welcomed. The energy and idealism of the young deserve to be appreciated and channeled to constructive purposes. There is little to refute here. As long as this “universal education” is completely voluntary and is not forced upon the rightful leaders of our youth - the parents - then it can coexist with the Christian ideal. In addition to being a voluntary activity, so must the choice of private schools or home education be left to the parents. Society can no more be responsible to raise our children than it can to elect a virtuous president or balance the government's budget. The Following quote is taken from the Humanist Manifesto II: ELEVENTH, continued: We deplore racial, religious, ethnic, or class antagonisms. Although we believe in cultural diversity and encourage racial and ethnic pride, we reject separations which promote alienation and set people and groups against each other; we envision an integrated community where people have a maximum opportunity for free and voluntary association.
If ever there was a topic that the Christian faith addressed with clarity and passion, it is that of racism. God created all people equal, and the very division of people groups into “races” is counterproductive and damaging. We ought not be emphasizing the differences between “races”, which is not even a biblical term; we ought to be ignoring them. The only outward difference between the “races” is the color of one's flesh. Even this is not a good indicator, since a very dark Texan can have skin which is darker than an light-skinned African from the Congo. If we truly did not care about “race,” if we never had distinguished between skin tones, if we as human beings had ignored the physiological differences among people born on different continents, then “race” would be a non-issue, and racism would not be a part of our vocabulary. National pride can still exist, just as one is often proud to claim which of the United States she is from, or which college he attended, or what her chosen religion is. But antagonism between ethnic groups would be non-existent if we would simply stop making an issue out of it and begin truly treating all members of the human race equally. In this topic, humanism and Christianity agree. All content on gel |
