Affirmations of Humanism

A Statement of Principles
· We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems.
· We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation.
· We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life.
· We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities.
· We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state.
· We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding.
· We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.
· We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves.
· We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.
· We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species.
· We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest.
· We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.
· We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity.
· We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.
· We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion.
· We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences.
· We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos.
· We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking.
· We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others.
· We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.
· We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings.

MY GLOBAL TRADE RANT

The global situation as it stands, is the meek are exploited to empower the rich. This is nothing new. What is new is the arrogant behavior by the major corporations who flaunt this fact before the American Public and we do nothing about it.

Our complacency is what allows these corporations to continue with these practices. The Reason? Buying $9 Jeans at Walmart.

So long as we are happy with the consumer results of the atrocious manufacturing practices, we are going to ignore the pain and suffering our cheap prices cause others.

Lets take this to the next level, Our Government and our methods of trade.
For decades, we have aggressively injected our spending power into the fabric of other countries. Many times, the end result is not what was promised to the people & governments of the other country.

Our idealistic plan of operation is to build a proper infrastructure. Clean water sources, Sewer treatment, Roads & bridges, Electric and gas and telecommunications. Big Trade agreements are made, Pacts are signed and the Halliburton’s of the world come in and build, always at a cost above the estimate and at an interest rate that puts a strain on the economy of the foreign country.

When the other country defaults on the loans, we take a pound of flesh in the way of OIL, military bases, lumber as well as labor exploitation. Shortly after, the large box stores and their suppliers come in, set up manufacturing and pay 18 cents/day.

What happens when a government doesn’t accept our proposal? We take out its leaders and replace them with those who would trade with us as we see fit. Venezuela & Panama just to name a few. If we cant take out the leaders, we go to WAR.

Our plan for Iraq included selling arms to Saddam. Military experts and the CIA were so invested in the continued sale of arms to Iraq for the purpose of keeping economic ties with Saddam and keep his secular regime in power in that region.
Our leaders were more than happy to ignore the abuse of his people by his government so long as we got our trade. Only when the deals went sour did we change course, built a case against Saddam and take him out militarily. Our attempts to get him personally were thwarted by his protection and ability to evade our CIA abilities.

This isn’t about OIL, its about global trade and markets. It’s the freedom to exploit a whole country full of people who could work for 18 cents/day to keep our goods at a lower cost for the American consumer.

You may point out that the people of these third world countries make out better in the end. I would point out different. The Disparity between the wealthiest and poorest grows at a huge rate, the healthcare in these countries falls way short of the expectations and at a higher cost than promised. The indigenous way of life for the multitude of newly employed is lost forever and the political landscape is changed to continue the exploitation of its people for the betterment of the American consumer.

We went to Iraq for reasons other than what we were told; Embarrassing reasons that continue to this day. Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria and North Korea are a few examples of doing “business as usual” with regimes that plot against us.
Look around you folks; our government has done business with tyrannical dictators more often than not. So telling the American public we went to Iraq to free its people is an outright lie.

Over 2000 of our 18 to 23 year olds, and 36,000 of Iraqi civilians have died as a result of our economic failure to secure a trade agreement with Iraq. The enemy who attacked the USA was based in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The attack was a pretext to go to war for economic reasons at the delight of this administration. What will it take to wake up the public and change the destructive course this administration has set for America?

WELCOME TO MY BLOG

The general direction for my postings will consist of intuitive reporting and points of view that reflect the positive direction that the City of Kingston, Ulster County, New York State and our country are heading. Great ideas and actions come from many sources and I will search the web and local sources for interesting posts. As this BLOG develops, you may find my thoughts intriguing or downright disturbing. I expect my method of posting to evolve, just as humanity has since the first microbe. So buckle yourself in and get ready for a fresh and dangerous ride.