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THE PASSIONATE SKEPTIC

 

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PERSONAL DECLARATION
OF MEMBERSHIP IN THE HUMAN COMMUNITY
 
      * I wish to affirm ........................ 
          * That it takes all kinds of people to make the human world prosper. 

          * That I have things in common with at least some other people. 

          * That I am content to have different physical attributes, as well as different beliefs, 
              habits, preferences and other cultural attributes from many other people. 

          * That I do not seek to justify the persecution or exploitation of those from whom I 
             differ. 

          * That I seek to benefit according to my values, as all others seek to benefit according 
              to their values. 

          * That I have a practical, common cause with all other people in the care and 
              management of the small planet Earth, together with its many life forms. 

          * That this document expresses my MINIMUM commitment to membership in the 
             Human Community. 

  

foxyform

 

 

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e-mail Thor May, thormay@yahoo.com  

see Signatories of the Declaration
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The Human Community

A Personal Declaration of Membership in the Human Community seemed a good idea at the time of its birth. Man's inhumanity to man apparently finds few limits. Those we persecute are somehow always painted as less than human (for it is OK, the psychology goes, to mistreat an animal). Every religion has an argument for the human duty of its believers, yet every religion has been used as a weapon against supposed enemies. Our wavering morality does need a strong attractor set into the current of life. So the Personal Declaration is a paper raft upon which to float some human values, an attachment so open that no one is cast adrift, regardless of origin, religion or culture. I worry a bit, from the chronicle of human experience, that any Declaration such as the one proposed is a lens whose focus can concentrate both good and evil. At least let my wish be known that the Personal Declaration of Membership in the Human Community should never be used as a weapon against anyone.  ARE YOUR HUMAN(E)?

Would you like to put it on record that you are a member of the Human Community? Seems obvious, doesn't it? Yet sometimes in a world of organizations the value of a mere person is overlooked.

Organizations have their uses as tools to aid living. That is all. You have heard of the United Nations. It is a pact between governments. You have heard of multilateral economic, military and cultural agreements. Those are also pacts between governments. You know about multinational companies. A spreadsheet is the nearest thing they have to a soul.

The "Personal Declaration of Membership in the Human Community" is a chance for you to say personally that you accept your role as a human being, and recognize the presence of others in all their variety. It does not commit you to one favoured ideology or group. You can follow your own path within reasonable bounds of coexistence.

The public Human Community membership list is freely available for those who wish to have their names placed on it. Groups of members may associate for whatever purpose takes their fancy, but they may speak for nobody but themselves.

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return to Thor's Unwise Ideas index [go to philosophy I][go to homepage]  [go to Signatories of the Declaration]
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published by Thorold (Thor) May