Secular morality — Golden Rule
Dear editor:
I am a secular humanist and Progressive. I believe in treating all people with respect and honoring their right to believe or not believe. It is not the belief that bothers me, it is the actions taken by those who believe. What you believe, I should believe, and how you demand I live by what you believe, that is the problem. Everyone in this nation deserves to be treated with decency and respect. It is highly presumptuous for anyone to claim their path through life is the only one.
An excellent example of secular morality is the Golden Rule. This moral precept, that one should treat others as one would like to be treated, predates the Abrahamic religions, effectively shredding the claim made by many Christians that their Bible is somehow the source of all morality. When considering whether a particular act would be immoral, one can consider its likely impact on others without needing to attempt to cherry pick from one’s Holy text. This is the only life any of us will have and it is up to us to live it to the fullest.
We now have credible scientific evidence that the universe is over 14 billion years old, and the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old. Recently, they have found evidence suggesting that each galaxy has a black hole at its center which limits the size of the galaxy. Large stars have exploded and the elements cast off by these stars formed the building blocks that enabled evolutionary progress that created life on Earth. To be sure, there are still persons who deny scientific facts and use unscientific means in an attempt to justify their beliefs and that is all they are — beliefs.
It would take me far more space to cover all of David Barton’s misstatements about U. S. history. Suffice it to say his latest book was pulled from the shelves by the publisher because there were too many errors. Barton has made a lot of money preaching to his followers and his propensity for fallacious historical pronouncements is legend.
One of my favorite philosophers was Albert Einstein. I love his quote “A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by the fear of punishment and hope of reward after death.” Another great quote by a man who faced death with courage — Carl Sagan, “The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides. “ Mike Nunn Hot Springs