Much has been said about the killing of black men and women by police in apparent use of excessive force. Much work remains to be done to end that violence. Now we have the killing of police officers in Dallas, San Diego, and Baton Rouge by those seeking revenge for violence against blacks. I believe I can speak for all ethical humanists in deploring any violence as a means to an end. Such violence against police officers solves no problem, and makes police feel more embattled as they try to carry out their duty to protect and to serve. Constructive dialog is the only solution, combined with real changes in police and community relations.
My kudos to Rev. William Barber, II, for his inspiring talk at the Democratic National Convention. He spoke of many things but tried to focus on right and wrong as our focus rather than categories which divide us…
“We need to embrace our deepest moral values…for revival at the heart of our democracy…When we love the Jewish child and the Palestinian child, the Muslim and the Christian and the Hindu and the Buddhist and those who have no faith but they love this nation, we are reviving the heart of our democracy.”
Rev. Barber sees the big picture!
Speaking of the big picture, kudos also go to William Keener of the Hickory Humanist Alliance here in North Carolina for his remarks at the Catawba County Interfaith Alliance recently. Mr. Keener shared his remarks on his blog “Skeptical Poets Society“. I will reproduce those remarks here without the footnotes included. His blog post contains all footnotes with links to his references.
“As an atheist and a secular humanist I’m often asked why I’m involved in “interfaith” – since I don’t have any faith. But I do have a lot of hope for what secular and religious people can accomplish together if we apply our collective intelligence and compassion to advance our shared goals. Humanists view “the good life” as one “inspired by love and guided by knowledge,” [i] and I believe many people of faith also share these core values. But we don’t have to agree on everything. Some of us – both religious and non-religious – also recognize that diversity makes us smarter. According to a recent article in Scientific American, “decades of research by organizational scientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists and demographers show that simply being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent and harder-working.” [ii] The field of science itself depends on its diversity to facilitate specialization, invigorate problem solving, and balance biases. [iii] Diversity can be difficult and cause some discomfort, but it also enhances creativity and changes the way we think and act. Diversity enriches our lives and our communities.
“And I would argue that a secular perspective in particular is necessary for any truly diverse “interfaith” dialogue. Otherwise – it seems to me – you’re just “preaching to the choir.” Roughly one in four Americans are now religiously unaffiliated, and somewhere between 12 and 21% identify as atheist or agnostic. [iv] But non-religious perspectives are just as diverse as religious perspectives, and we certainly don’t speak with one voice. Instead, we tend to embrace dissent and skepticism. However, many of us also believe in:
· Building relationships based on mutual respect and our common humanity.
· Recognizing and trying to understand our differences.
· Working together to make our community a better place for all of us.
“Many secular people are very concerned about the growing homophobia, racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia in our nation that wants to build walls between people instead of bridges. We’re disturbed by the increase in populist and extremist rhetoric that marginalizes and demonizes minorities. And we’re appalled by mean-spirited and misguided legislation that attempts to solve a problem that doesn’t exist by targeting transgender people who just need to pee. I watched most of the very short debate and public comments on House Bill 2 at the North Carolina General Assembly in March. One of the speakers during the public comments was a transgender woman named Madeline Goss. She’s a software engineer in the Research Triangle, but she grew up in Hickory. She told our state legislators something that we should all reflect on if we are interested in fostering a more compassionate community: “I love Hickory, but I was bullied and tortured mercilessly there. And where did it happen? It happened in the men’s room. This place is a place of danger for me, and what this bill would do is send me back there. I left Hickory for places that are safe, like Charlotte and Raleigh….I can’t use the men’s room. I won’t go back to the men’s room. It is unsafe for me there. People like me die there every day.” [v]
“How do we make this community a safe and welcoming place for Madeline? Several years ago a local Christian pastor made international news by proposing – from the pulpit – a “solution” to the “problem” of homosexuality – essentially, his solution involved death camps. [vi] Even in the wake of Orlando, several pastors across the nation were celebrating the “good news” that “there’s 50 less pedophiles in this world” [vii] and bemoaning the “tragedy” that “more of them didn’t die.” This type of rhetoric only emboldens those who bully, torture, and kill the Madeline’s of the world, and common decency demands that we condemn it.
“The list goes on – and gets worse. We could talk about Charleston and the sudden unfurling of confederate battle flags in our area. We could talk about Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. Or Ferguson and Baltimore…or Dallas and Baton Rouge. Or the ongoing threats and violence across the country targeted at Muslims (or people who “look” Muslim) and several ugly recent examples of Islamophobia in a local county commission [viii] and in a paid ad last year in the Hickory Daily Record. [ix] Or we could talk about Colorado Springs and a certain local street preacher who has an image of a fetus on the side of his truck – and, as far as I know, a legal concealed carry permit. [x]
So there’s plenty of work to do. But I also want to acknowledge the great work that the other members of this interfaith council have been doing, and continue to do, in this community to help mitigate these and other issues. As a representative of the Hickory Humanist Alliance, I want to publically extend our group’s sincere thanks to all of you for your ongoing efforts – and for reaching out to us to be part of this effort.”
