New Mexico Humanists look forward to 2021

2020 HAS been a difficult year for Homo Sapiens. Our activities and lifestyle has been dramatically altered. The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating, and clearly ignorance of science and reason has led to incredible loss of life and pronounced suffering. Part of the wrath of this reality has been the exposure to dramatic racism and recoil. Anger has roiled over into conflicts, separation and misconceptions. The environment has been assaulted with major withdrawals of protective regulations. The wealth gap has increased, and the tax break did not trickle down. Unemployment, poverty and hunger have increased dramatically. Businesses are struggling.

A difficult paragraph above — but real. Humanists desire that all humans flourish. It is possible by close attention to science and reason. The Humanist Manifesto states the following: “Ethical values are derived from human need and interest as tested by experience;” “working to benefit society maximizes individual happiness:” “Life’s fulfillment emerges from individual participation in the service of humane ideals.”

Quoting Steven Pinker: “Much of what we call wisdom consists in balancing the conflicting desires in ourselves, and much of what we call morality and politics consists in balancing the conflicting desires among people.”

As Humanists, we need to stay on course and navigate the difficult waters of 2021. It is a matter of knowledge, of our principles and encouraging all humans to balance through science, reason, and empathy.

Our nation and perhaps the world has endured populism, profiteering, greater income inequality and racial profiling. All these oppose our simple, non theistic ideals.

We look forward to 2021 with close attention to science and reason in our wonderful nation.