Humanism
What is it?
I've been told that I personally fall under this term, that I am a humanist, so I'm asking what it is. I refuse to use Wikipedia right now, but what from what I've gathered it is a belief or something that society and humanity and the statuses of all its aspects must be held in a regard that avoids religious whatevers... or something.
I'm a firm believer that religion and Jesus and whoever should not be brought into the issues we look at. At least, I never found it bad to be spiritual, I in fact believe in a God, my own personal one, but I have never consulted Him or asked Him what is right. I believe that what is best for humanity and for the people involved, that should always be thought about. Not, "well my god says this" or "I interpret it as this" and hence, bar a groups basic human rights, or worse, disregard them as being human, and take actions to such effect.
I believe that every human has a basic right that should never be impeded on the grounds of religious beliefs, political views, or otherwise. Abortion should be asked with "well, where do we draw the line that says this person is human" and not state matter-of-factly "God says here *points* that it is wrong..."
It is these kinds of views that I believe contribute in detoriating society and everything that makes it superior. Why is it superior? Because everybody has rights, humans are respected. Religion, and this is no attack on it, I think it has done wonders for people personally and done some very good things, but religion's flaws, which are in its administration, far outweighs what it does for humans as a whole. God knows people have more killed more in the name of God than anything else...
I know that if religion didn't exist, people would find some other excuse to kill each other. But religion attacks, at least it will and does in its maturity stages (a fault of the administration's), reason. Divine right, moral highground because of religious beliefs, attack our faculty of reason.
Religion, organized religion, is one of the most powerful, destructive tools we have. On an individual level, religion provides all the answers, gives comfort and solace. But on a mass scale, for whatever fault of the people who run it, religion is a convoluted mess that does far more harm than good. That is why I shy away from bringing religion into it, because debates of logic can be won, religion has, since its conception, started squeezing the life out of logic and reason, leaves no room for it in an argument.
Again, I'm not attacking religion, at least personal spirituality I'm not, but I fail to see how organized religion resolves anything. Mass salvation sure, whatever. Mass genocide, happens, would happen anyway. Solution: Not religion.
It is humanism, the belief that people are the number one priority if we can help it, that I believe will solve problems, at least contribute to solving them logically.
But what is humanism? I don't know exactly, but I like the term, I like how it seems to say that humans are all here, all equal, and it is only us that can help ourselves, because I can go home and pray to a Lord for personal salvation, even guidance, but on the global stage, I do not invest so much faith in any religion that contradicts itself so many times over, that has been abused and manipulated so many times over, and that ultimately leads to broken promises, not by a God, but by people. And I'd rather hold people accountable for actions than a being we cannot first of all, even know...
Thank you.
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