You know, I hate the hot bed amount of hate, intolerance, unempathetic and general cruel and inhumane treatment people who are Transgender, Nonbinary, and gender-diverse in general people are getting right now.

As someone who is Transgender themselves, I feel this and it sucks. It also makes me wonder why people in general can be so fucked up, disgusting and vile towards other human beings when it literally takes zero effort to be kind to others and treat people how they want to be seen and treated.

Now, I'm not saying religion is always the cause of this, as there are cases I'm sure outside of that from people who aren't religious either. Look at Richard Dawkins. I'm also not even honestly opposed to religion, even though I don't believe in the gods of Judeo-Christian beliefs, I am more opposed necessarily to weaponizing religion against other human beings.

I also find this odd though how religion effects other people's minds and opinions on people who are different from their own meld, like people who are of different belief systems, Transgender or LGBTQ, or something entirely different. Even when I was a Christian, I find it a funny notion compared to how Christianity is viewed as a whole now, but I still believed in treating people with dignity and respect, and viewing them by the content of their character, rather than who they actually were. I feel like that notion itself was much more Christ-like than how others act.

But, I digress. I would say I'm much more of a Humanist in many aspects, as I believe in treating others with respect, dignity and empathy, the belief in others being able to live their life how they see fit, respecting that, and being a good, helpful person where you can in society. Also, even though I'm more of an agnostic personally, I believe that science at the current time, though doesn't necessarily 100% completely rule out that a god does or doesn't exist (even if it's not the biblical god) is the best way to explain how the universe works and came to be.

In the spirit of the World War II resistance, just as today is not a matter of political alignment or party affiliation, nor is it a divisive concept or attitude: on the contrary, it is the commitment to being inclusive and offering everyone the right to inclusivity.

During those years of conflict and death, people with completely different worldviews set aside their differences and personal ideas to unite against the evil and the violent, irrational dictatorship of Nazi-Fascism. Likewise, it is clear that even today Nazism, Aryan supremacy (and similar extremisms), ethnic hatred, discrimination, and violence have nothing to do with ideologies, politics, or society: they are purely violence, crime, aberration, and proof of incredible stupidity and ignorance.

Everyone has the indisputable individual freedom not to like someone or to choose whom to associate with, but personal freedom ends the moment it turns into hate propaganda or the demand to discriminate against, subjugate, or even eliminate other human beings solely for their identity, solely for their uniqueness.

I genuinely believe that standing against hatred and defending basic human dignity belongs to everyone, regardless of political labels. I believe that being a partisan is a commitment to good, and if you want a parallel with present-day culture, I think it is very similar to being a Jedi with the difference that instead of the 'fantastic powers' of an imaginary universe, in the real world one uses dedication, altruism, and intellect to fight injustice, violence, and complete madness "

After I posted this text in an Italian community and received some nasty attacks, I decided to respond by adding a quote from an American comedian I greatly admire, along with some new text.

The challenge of living and being the good guys, and the useless dead weight of hatred.

A quote by Richard Pryor

"Racism is terrible. I mean, white people, you got to know—it messes you up. But what it does to Black people is terrible. Because, no matter what, it's hard enough being a human being. It's really hard enough just to be that. Like, just to go through everyday life without losing your mind—it's hard enough just to walk through life, trying to be decent, as a person. But here, another element added to it when you're Black... it's enough to make you crazy."

I tried to express an idea of peace, but perhaps I need to be more incisive:

I have no doubt that the vast majority of people strive to live their lives trying to be decent and peaceful human beings, simply enjoying their freedom of choice and deciding to share their daily lives with those they feel most comfortable with.

I have no doubt that humanity is drawing closer together and uniting, embracing the ideals of tolerance and inclusivity.

I have no doubt that the only 'race' heading toward extinction is extremists. All extremists—from Aryan supremacists to the Taliban, through political and religious fanatics of every latitude, down to anyone who turns their ideology into hatred toward others—only add weight and anger to an already complex life, using and abusing fake ideals and fake philosophies to spread hatred, spew malice, and encourage violence!

Humanity is evolving, and these crude discriminators, racists, and absolutists are dwindling: a process that is unfortunately slow, yet inexorable, which will lead them to vanish without anyone needing to eliminate them. Their ignorance, their unjustified stubbornness, and above all their lack of intelligence will destroy them, following the inevitable natural selection they babble so much about without truly understanding it.

So here is the 'New Resistance,' which today does not need to fight in the mountains, no longer shoots anyone in the back, and uses intelligence and the privilege of offering friendship and solidarity to a stranger as the only weapons truly needed to be decent people, worthy of taking the next evolutionary step."

1. Universal Equality; In the eternal universe, nothing is stronger, superior, or weaker than anything else. Humanity is ot the master of nature, but an equal part of the infinite web of life. Everything is deeply connected. We can only reach eternity by accepting this equality and living in absolute harmony with the universe. 2. Supranational Unity and Rights of Life; To secure the future, humanitymust create a supranational organization beyond selfish borders. this authority must establish universal laws that protect the right to life for all living beings, not just humans. A world constitution without violence and conflict, where every species lives in justice and mercy, is the first step toward cosmic harmony. 3. Biological Immortality and resurrection; Our ultimate goal is not to become synthetic machines, but to conquer death within our original biological bodies and spirits. Death is not an absolute end; it is a temporary cellular sleep. through future medicine and quantum physics, we will defeat future death and reconstruct the atomic codes of beings who diedin the last 8- 10 years, bringing them back with their original bodies and memories. 4. Human Flaws and Cosmic Intent; A thinker's personal habits or human weaknesses do not diminish the truth of this cosmic vision. Imperfections belong to the body, but what truly matters is mercy in the heard and faith in universal justice. Desiring cosmic harmonyand respecting humanity to eternity.

As a Chinese person, I admire the Western classical tradition, but that does not mean I accept its entire historical legacy uncritically.
The classical Greek and Roman systems of virtue certainly had their limitations. The ideals of excellence and virtue they celebrated were originally accessible primarily to a small class of free citizens, while slaves and the lower social classes were largely excluded. In this sense, Christianity did address a problem that the classical world had failed to adequately resolve. It introduced the idea that a person’s worth should not depend entirely on their talents, achievements, or social status, and that even the weak, the poor, and those who lack exceptional abilities possess a value that should not be easily dismissed. This is an insight worth acknowledging.
However, I do not agree with allowing the Christian moral narrative to overshadow and ultimately consume classical humanism, nor do I agree with replacing the affirmation of human excellence, dignity, and strength with self-abasement. I would rather take the classical spirit as my foundation and selectively incorporate what is valuable in Christianity: recognizing the fundamental dignity of every human being, regardless of their abilities, origins, or social standing, while rejecting the idea that pride, strength, and the pursuit of excellence are inherently sinful. I also reject the logic of domestication that constantly demands people negate themselves and diminish their own worth.
Self-reflection and introspection certainly have their place, but they should serve human growth and self-cultivation rather than become an endless cycle of confession and self-denial. When humility ceases to be a measured virtue and instead becomes a demand to constantly demonstrate one’s own inferiority, or even an end in itself, it is no longer a virtue but a form of moral discipline.
For these reasons, I feel a much stronger affinity with the pre-Christian classical spirit of Greece and Rome, as well as with the affirmation of human reason, dignity, creativity, excellence, and sublimity found in the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. What I value is a conception of civilization that recognizes the fundamental worth of every human being without abandoning the pursuit of excellence; one that respects the weak without requiring people to deny their own strength in order to prove their moral worth.
I do not deny Christianity’s historical contributions, but overall, I identify far less with Christianity than I do with the classical humanist tradition.

"An orchestra does not create harmony because all its instruments are the same. It creates harmony because they are different and can contribute to a shared composition."

Diversity is the raw material. Complementarity is the possibility. Our common humanity is the horizon.

We grow up learning to focus on our own success, ambitions and achievements. Everything becomes about what we want and what we haven't achieved yet. Somewhere along the way, we forget that life is also about caring for others and recognising the connection we share as human beings.

*We polish up the cage and call it grace,*

*And dress our petty greeds in tailored wool,*

*A smiling, loud, self-righteous little race*

*With empty heads and bellies overfull.*

*Yet someone set the broken leg and stayed,*

*and fed the one who couldn’t hunt or stand;*

*we built the cage, then dreamed the door, and made*

*the yardstick that you measure with, by hand.*

*Look at the crowd: a herd of anxious sheep*

*Who swear they’re wolves because they learned to bite,*

*Who sell their waking hours just to sleep*

*And fear the quiet dark and hate the light.*

*Yet show me sheep that sail to find the edge,*

*or wolves who stay up singing past the dawn;*

*we fear the dark, and still we keep the pledge*

*to light a fire and tell the story on.*

I’ve worked nightclubs on four continents, done porn in Los Angeles and now work construction sites in Scotland. I’ve seen people at their worst at three in the morning, on set at noon and on the scaffold at seven, and I’ve been some of those people. I’ve lied, used people, and taken more than I gave. So I’m not here to say humans don’t deserve criticism. We do, and I’d put myself near the front of the queue.

What interests me is what the criticism itself says about us.

No other animal judges its own species. A wolf doesn’t lie awake disgusted with wolves. To be disappointed in humanity, you need a picture of what humanity should be, held against what it is. That picture is a standard, and as far as we know, only one animal carries one. So misanthropy seems to rest on the very capacity it says we lack.

The record is mixed in the same way. Archaeologists have found skeletons tens of thousands of years old with badly broken bones that healed. In the Ice Age, a broken leg means you can’t hunt or keep up, so somebody fed and carried that person for months. The same species also left mass graves. Both are in the dirt.

My working theory is that the cruelty and the care run on the same engine. The restlessness that starts a war also writes symphonies. The loyalty that protects your own is the loyalty that turns on outsiders. If that’s right, the problem isn’t a bad part of us we can cut out. It’s one set of drives, and it's how we point them.

So here’s the question I can’t get past. Every standard we use to condemn humanity, whether fairness, honesty, kindness or justice, was invented by humans. If those standards are good, then the species you’re judging produced the best thing in the argument. If humans are as rotten as the case says, why trust the yardstick they made? Where does a misanthrope stand to measure humanity, if not inside it?

Instead of seeing only the worse in people, you will now begin to see the good instead.

Instead of darkness, you will see light, instead of helplessness, you will want to selflessly help others, and instead of accepting living in a world of fear, you will want to help change the world so others may live in a world of love instead.

Thanksgiving is coming. How do you handle grace or religious talk at family gatherings when you're not religious? What's worked, and what hasn't?

Eight of us played board games at Game Nut last night. I learned Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza the hard way: wrong gestures, nearly the whole deck in my hand, and a loss. Bruised ego, great night. 🌮🐈🐐🧀🍕

#HumanistsOfTopeka #BoardGameNight #TacoCatGoatCheesePizza #TopekaKS #GameNight #Humanism #CommunityMatters

1. Informed Consent and Autonomy

• Breach of Contract: In secular ethics, marriage is viewed as a mutual agreement built on explicit or implicit terms, which usually include monogamy. Breaking that agreement secretly violates the basic fairness of a partnership.

• Right to Self-Determination: People have a fundamental right to make decisions about their own lives based on reality. When one partner hides an affair, they deny the other person the truth needed to decide whether to stay in the relationship, leave, or renegotiate the boundaries.

2. Health Risks and Physical Safety

• Bodily Autonomy: Secular ethics places a high value on a person's control over their own body. Exposing a partner to potential sexually transmitted infections (STIs) without their knowledge removes their ability to protect their own health.

• Preventable Harm: Even if someone is careful, no method is 100% risk-free. Introducing a new health risk into a relationship without the other person's consent is widely seen in secular ethics—and even in some legal systems—as a violation of personal safety and trust.

So guys, share your opinions with me , I would love to know 🙂

How can the senseless death of even one child be acceptable? Whether that child died in war, from starvation, a treatable illness, or in any other manner, their loss will be suffered by everyone; their essence within no longer present to shine their light on the world. This is true not only of children, but every life as well.

Is someone’s life, because of their wealth, fame, job, ethnicity, race, or any other comparison, more valuable than another’s who is poor, homeless, a minority? If you answered yes, then you have found a way to rationalize our children dying.

If you answered no though, perhaps it is time to awaken, understanding every life is, and always has been, equally valuable and those most vulnerable, our children, their light must never again be allowed to senselessly darken.

Hey guys, hope you guys are all well. Over the last few days I have been extremely worried and depressed after hearing someone describe an experiment suggesting that the brain begins preparing actions before we’re consciously aware of deciding to perform them (I find this hard to believe).
I then heard that a conclusion people draw from this experiment is that free will doesn’t exist as our brains make decisions unconsciously before our conscious minds become aware of them.
This made me worry that perhaps I can’t actually consciously make my own decisions, I can’t decide to get out of bed and I can’t decide to not do harm, as my the decision has already been made by my subconscious without me having any control over it.
So I am worried that I can’t actually do anything and I’m just like a worm, and it’s really hurting me.

Now I know that many people actually believe this conclusion and live totally fine and healthy, happy lives, I just don’t understand how they can do this, so I must be missing something regarding this. Now with my experience on this earth (my experience is the only thing that I have) what I consciously choose happens. Now this has to be a fact as I experience it (I need it to be a fact or I’d go insane), but how can the conclusion and this be true at the same time. If it’s not don’t say as I may actually have to go into hospital (my sanity is more important than figuring this out, I just want to have good mental health, I’m just struggling to ignore the worry)!! The only thing I can think is that perhaps the part of my subconscious brain activity that makes the decision, becomes conscious and is my consciousness so therefore I am actually choosing consciously. Yes, this is caused by my brain and I don’t actually have control over what my brain chooses so it’s predetermined and yes you can then conclude libertarian free will wouldn’t be true.
Anyway are any of you guys able to help me regarding this as I am really struggling as I am scared that I can’t decide to live my life how I want to and even get out of bed in the morning.
Thanks

I personally identify as a pan-humanist and view myself as one part of the massive human family. I see everyone as my kin, and that includes other apes and monkeys. My brain makes little distinction between them and us. I feel that a lot of the guidelines regarding nature have been written by humans for humans, with the explicit purpose of making humans seem like the be all end all.

Moreover, I think a more accurate term for my identity is almost pan-terranism or something. An animal is no less my brother or sister just because they walk on all fours, fly, or swim the oceans. We're all on an increasingly hostile world together, and we'll always be here together until we all return to the dirt.

Forgive my slightly incoherent rambling, just a thought.

I'm a chaplain seeking endorsement from the AHA. I asked a couple months ago what books this subreddit would recommend putting in our chapel. In addition to passing this recommendation along to my site preceptor, I decided to read the two most common recommendations myself: For Small Creatures Such as We by Sasha Sagan (which I finished and loved) and The Good Book by A.C. Grayling (which I'm about ready to throw away).

I simply do not like The Good Book. Its ideas are broad. It leans on saying things poetically but, bluntly, it feels like really bad and amateurish poetry. It leans toward over-universalizing statements and bad takes at points.

Ah. But. My point is not a critique or review. My point is: Many people recommended this book to me as a representation of humanist perspective. And I don't want to discard it without understanding the good it has offered others. So, to fans of this book, an earnest request: Can you help me understand the merits of this book, both as its own work and as a contribution to humanist literature?

So much hate, fear, prejudice; so many needless deaths, hungry, homeless. How long will we allow this to continue?

We are taught we cannot change the struggles so many endure. This is a lie, fabricated by a self-centered society to convince us to accept the status quo.

We must each challenge this myth, embracing courage instead of fear, acceptance instead of prejudice, and love instead of hate.

The Idea Of An Ideal:

The Greater Promise It Holds...

I did not create this for myself.

I created it because of a promise — a moment that defined not just a person, but a vision of what humanity once aspired to be.

A vision we have allowed to slip from our grasp.

A vision we have forgotten at the cost of our own humanity.

I look at the world now and I barely recognize it.

A world fractured by division, consumed by discord, drowning in chaos.

What happened to the promise we once held?

How have we fallen so far from the ideal we claimed to stand for?

We once made stories, shows, and legends about that ideal —

about unity, courage, integrity, and hope.

In the words of Jean-Luc Picard, we dreamed of a future where all people, all races, all nations could stand together.

A future guided by principle, not by fear.

Because what we do in life echoes for an eternity.

So I ask:

What echo do you want your life to send into the ages?

I have watched men become politicians, politicians become tyrants, and tyrants become dictators — elevated by the very people they were meant to serve..!!!!

I have seen leaders choose power over purpose, greed over duty, and division over unity.

Governments unable to govern.

Monarchs watching silently as their kingdoms collapse around them.

Dictators choking the life from their people, demanding devotion while offering nothing but suffering of there own people through false worship under threat of death of anyone who does not obey this tyranny..

Is this the echo we want to leave behind?

Is this what humanity has been reduced to?

Or is the world crying out — begging for a light in the darkness, for a promise of something better?

An idea.

An ideal.

A new golden age built not on conquest or fear, but on the rediscovery of our humanity.

We must choose:

Will we remain chained by the limitations this world has placed on us?

Or will we rise to reclaim the dream that once defined us —

to look up toward our place among the stars instead of down at the dirt beneath our feet?

It is time for humanity to wake up.

To decide whether we will live by the idea of an ideal —

a future shaped by unity, purpose, and hope —

or surrender to our grievances and lose the very essence that makes us human.

I cannot make that choice for anyone.

All that I ask is that when you read this is that you stand in front of a mirror and ask:

Do we build a world worthy of the ideal we once believed in?

Or

Do we abandon it forever this will be the choice rememberd by history because the will to act is everything and if do not act then we do not strive for something better we were meant to reach for.

To quote a famous line if you make your self more than just person if you devote your self to an ideal that leaves them powerless to act and they can't stop you then you become someone else entirely..??

A symbol that can be incorruptible and ever lasting is more powerful than any one person alone to create an idea of of something greater that whispered by one person and then to another until a single idea creates a tidal wave to powerful to be stopped.

What starts as a single idea turns into ideal greater than anything we have ever had in are lifetime to believe in through conflicts and petty wars driven by greed and a need for power and theft of world resources which can only last for so long by the world natural resources start to run out...

Gas and oil also rear minerals that military powers need for the weapons become war zones that escalate when the world we live in becomes something we no longer remember or even recognise from the world we once knew do we start to look for an idea of something better just for a small glimmer of hope..

It is only when the world faces extinction do we change at the precipice of are hewberus believing we keep taking the world we live for granted as any hope left in it..??

Like it or not we are masters of hour fate nothing is written in stone we all share the same future and the same fate this is not some quirk of fate and we are bound not only by the choice we make but by the very decision we take act when others could not.

Humanity greatest tragedy is not that we failed to reach our are greatest potential it is that we forget it ever existed within us to reach for in the first place.

Because before we ask the world what it should become we must first ask ourselves who we choose to become will be who we are remembered for every quiet decision we makes writes the answer history will read...

Our destiny is written not by conflict, but by whether we dare to lift our eyes toward the sky again and dream about are place among the stars

Legends are not just stories; they are the echoes of the ideal we once vowed to live by because the mirror does not lie; it reveals whether we stand for the ideal we strive for or weather we merely speak of it..??

The idea of an ideal does not die until the last soul chooses to stops believing it is worth fighting for until we either choose to reclaim are humanity or choose to lose it lose what it means to be human..

Standing at the precipice of our fate we are not merely keepers of are own fate we are living proof of humanity's greatest promise that can never be truly erased..!!!!

That one unbroken idea to believe in an ideal, carried by the people, will forever be stronger than all the power of the world's weapons combined it takes one person to change the course of history,

Not through power or money but an idea more powerful than any weapon that it can not be ignored because words can not brought to silence a vision those in power do not wish you to see..

They hold the belief the people are here to provide the with position of power while not being held to accountability.

Well I think it is there position to provide the people with freedom to believe in an ideal worth living for because the people of this world have missed their god given right to something better.

That a single idea inpired an ideal within all of us and the greater promise it holds of a new golden age that does not arrive by chance but when the world reaches a tipping point..!!!!

When enough people choose to reclaim their humanity over the division and discord of choase this word has fallen into because no matter which side you stand on we all share one fate together that we are forever bound by...

Live not for today but for an idea of something greater,

We are the masters of are domain where dreams of achieving an impossible dream are celebrated.

We believe in a single idea that can change not just a nation.

But a single idea has the power to change the course of human history forever,

This is the power how an idea can become a symbol...

That inspires an ideal of a greater promise...

Is that humanity may yet choose to become what we once dreamed we could be..

For it is not written in stone it is written by every single one of us for all of history to remember what we choose to leave behind..??

A legacy remembered by the passage of time..

The resources of our planet are exploited by the wealthy, for the benefit of the few. Humanity spends incredible amounts of money preparing or fighting wars, rather than spending this money to help those most in need.

They buy bombs and bullets to kill people, rather than food for the hungry or to provide shelter for the homeless. This is insanity, solved only by a paradigm shift; one that requires putting the needs of all before those of the privileged few.

I like this approach because unlike other 'easier' and 'punitive' approaches it does not demonize the student who bullies, and tries to help the student in understanding their own behavior and changing and becoming more human without coercion...very humanist principles.

Believing everything we are taught about what is expected of us, though some may be necessary for our survival in the world, it is also the cause of venom flowing through our body, waiting an opportunity to release its toxin.

The outcome often results in hate, intolerance, and violent actions. It is also the cause of prejudice, leading to war, inequity, and many of humanity’s challenges.

Though our self-centered beliefs will remain with us throughout our life, they do not have to dominate our actions. By choosing love rather than hate, tolerance rather than prejudice, and treating all others, regardless of our differences, with respect and compassion, rather than disdain and contempt, we may rid our bodies of this poison and the many harmful actions its venom causes.

Instead of helping others, we harm them.

Instead of loving others, we judge them.

We spend our seminal years when we are children being socialized to accept these self-centered beliefs, then often spend the rest of our life trying to undo the damage and prejudice embracing these views resulted in.

Every action we take must not harm another. Every word we say must be spoken with love, not malice. Every person we meet must be treated with respect and kindness, not contempt and animosity.

There is never a reason to do otherwise. We are each meant to sincerely care and help each other through life’s many trials, not to hate and hinder another to benefit only ourselves.