Q1 2020 IN MY CORNER OF THE WORLD

Q1 2020 IN MY CORNER OF THE WORLD

I, along with everyone else in the public health community, have been tracking the progression of the COVID-19 epidemic. At the beginning of March 2020 I traveled to Oporto, Portugal to take part in the examination committee of a doctoral thesis. On the very day of my departure my daughter called me from Berlin to ask if I had seen the news of the closing of the Oporto University’s Medical School, where the examination was going to take place. After a quick exchange of emails it was confirmed and so I went.

COVID-19 IS A CONTINUUM

COVID-19 IS A CONTINUUM

I want to hopefully shed some light amid the confusion. There is a continuum of COVID-19 in between “you die” and “you get over it and return to normal.” Today is day 31 for me. I tested negative on day 27. Yesterday out of nowhere, I was hit with crippling fatigue and chills. My cough is almost gone, and I’ve been fever-free for two weeks, but when it comes to COVID-19, testing negative doesn’t mean it’s over.

COVID-19: AM/WAS I INFECTED?

COVID-19: AM/WAS I INFECTED?

It was a long direct flight home on March 13, a Friday; I felt trapped, wondering when it would be over. It was the first time in a long time that I felt sick on a plane. Coincidentally, the last time was during the Ebola scare in 2014.

TWO DAYS IN APRIL

TWO DAYS IN APRIL

It’s worth remembering the beginning, 50 years ago now, the aspiration for a healthier and more sustainable environment, to be stewards – a word utterly lost on the current administration – of the natural wonders that sustain our lives, meaning clean air and water, restoration of contaminated lands, controlling greenhouse gas emissions, and more.

THE EVOLUTION OF SUPREMACY

THE EVOLUTION OF SUPREMACY

It may be tempting to believe that humans have become more just, and that any incidents of supremacy thinking will eventually disappear. Environmental threats like climate change present themselves as new problems that have little to do with our conventional concepts of morality. I argue that the belief in the supremacy of all or some of humanity has set us on a path towards environmental collapse much as it has enabled our accomplishments. Moral philosophy itself has systematically reinforced supremacist preconceptions and has arguably led us to accept unsustainable behavior as normal. Understanding the moral justifications that we have constructed for supremacist thinking and their impact on our biosphere may be central towards preventing environmental decline or collapse.

The Anatomy of Tyranny and the Case of Donald Trump

The Anatomy of Tyranny and the Case of Donald Trump

The Constitution of the United States established a democracy with clear separation of powers between the three branches of government. Nevertheless, achieving a democracy still depends upon the citizens and certain qualities of the elected officials. This essay examines several famous historical leaders identified as tyrants by noted historians, and describes the common strategies all of them used to gain autocratic power in diverse societies. The current president of the United States, Donald Trump, is then shown to have applied the same strategies to gain autocratic power in this country.

Generation Gaps

Generation Gaps

All throughout history the older generation has complained about the younger generation. During ancient Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, the older people were complaining that the younger people were disrespectful, and that morality was in decline. In North America, during the days of the Puritans, older people complained that the youth were headed for disaster. They complained about young people’s slang – they used “good bye” instead of “God bless you,” for example.

Morality, Neutrality, and Religious Liberty—Part I (of II)

Morality, Neutrality, and Religious Liberty—Part I (of II)

An oft-repeated “argument” from religious people, especially American Christians, is that their religion and their religious liberty are at risk by separation of religion and government. Furthermore, some of these same people claim, only by honoring and practicing religiosity can morality be assured. This first effort addresses the morality part (even though the writer isn’t religious)—in the next issue, neutrality is attacked from all sides.

Duchenne Smile

Duchenne Smile

A chalk drawing outside the Art Studio says: ‘What if six feet and a mask made us all closer?” I love this sentiment. There’s a certain kindness these days, more ‘hellos’ and waves. Duchennes smiles for days, which you can see above masks, smiles reaching the eyes.

Breaking the Last Taboo

Breaking the Last Taboo

An oldie-but-goodie from self-proclaimed skeptic and agnostic James A. Haught, who’s written several books on atrocities and injustices wreaked in the name of religion. The subject of taboos wouldn’t be complete without this quintessential jeremiad originally published in the Winter 1996/97 issue of Free Inquiry (a journal of secular humanist opinion and commentary founded in 1980 by Paul Kurtz).

COMPARING AND CONTRASTING YUVAL NOAH HARARI AND STEVEN PINKER

COMPARING AND CONTRASTING YUVAL NOAH HARARI AND STEVEN PINKER

Paul LaClair reviews and interconnects two books: Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, and Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress.

WHY IS DENOUNCING FARRAKHAN TABOO IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY?

WHY IS DENOUNCING FARRAKHAN TABOO IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY?

Nation of Islam (NOI) Minister Louis Farrakhan has long labeled himself as a strong (patriarchal, hyper-masculine) Black man – presumably the type of man necessary for authentic Black leadership. For this reason, many in the Black community are reluctant to criticize even his most egregious words and actions. Such an attitude by the Black community only encourages more demagoguery. It is time for African Americans to raise their standards for Black leadership.

ONE WORD: SOCIALISM

ONE WORD: SOCIALISM

What do Leon Trotsky, Emma Goldman, Ralph Nader, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Carl Sandburg, Hugo Chavez, Adolf Hitler, Harry Truman, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have in common? They’re all socialists or at least have been “accused” of being socialists, along with Karl Marx, Henri de Sainte-Simon, Vladimir Lenin, Eugene V. Debs, Vachel Lindsay, Nicholas Maduro, and many, many others. In the US the label has frequently been a handy political insult, an often taboo but (paradoxically) close to meaningless label to apply to one’s opponent. Admittedly it’s rare if not unheard of to call a right-wing leader in the US a “socialist” even if s/he seems to have way too much in common with National Socialist leader Adolf Hitler, but it would make as much sense to do that as to call FDR a socialist, and his enemies lambasted him as one frequently.

ON HISTORICAL CONTINUITY, SLAVERY, AND JUSTICE

ON HISTORICAL CONTINUITY, SLAVERY, AND JUSTICE

As of early March 2019, three American Democratic presidential candidates advocated reparations for descendants of American slaves. On July 20, 2017, The New York Amsterdam published “Europe replies to demand for reparations,” referring to a 2013 lawsuit filed by fourteen Caribbean nations against the United Kingdom, France, and The Netherlands. Thus, the request for compensation for ancestors’ free labor is now transnational.

Why I am an Agnostic and Neither an Atheist Nor a Believer

Why I am an Agnostic and Neither an Atheist Nor a Believer

The mystery of existence is the greatest of all mysteries and the most basic of the big questions.  It is mainly what has kept me an agnostic rather than an atheist.  (It should be acknowledged that regarding Abrahamic concepts of God I’m more of an atheist.)  The immensity of the universe (or a multiverse cosmos) is incredible; impossible to fathom.  Thinking about this sometimes makes me wonder if perhaps almost anything might be possible. However, it doesn’t make me a believer.  I‘m in agreement with physicist Richard Feynman who once said in an interview:  “I can live with doubt and uncertainty.  I think it’s much more interesting to live NOT knowing than to have answers which might be wrong.”  I truly don’t know how there happens to be any existence.

The Lost Art of Happiness: Sounds of the Heart

The Lost Art of Happiness: Sounds of the Heart

Aphorisms can serve as a kind of shorthand for complex thoughts. They can synthesize important ideas in pithy and therefore memorable ways. While often abused and reduced to fortune cookie readouts or greeting card tag lines, when presented in the proper context, aphorisms can be useful hooks that trigger deeper thoughts and reinforce appropriate feelings. I think of the maxims here as piece]s] of construction that I call Spiritual Timber. Here is material with which to construct a home, one with air and light, shutters thrown open and doors ajar. It is a home of shelter, protection, and warmth. This is the material to make an inviting and expansive home, one that welcomes the world in. This is a home of generosity and respect, peace, and hospitality.

Paul Kurtz on Eupraxsophy, Love, and Friendship

Paul Kurtz on Eupraxsophy, Love, and Friendship

Eupraxsophy provides an excellent alternative to organized religion, although its creator, Paul Kurtz, urged humanists to work with religionists to find common values. Even though the term “eupraxsophy” has encountered much resistance among humanists, Kurtz’s worldview has been accepted by many humanist leaders throughout the world and has cut across racial lines.

Eupraxsophy has the potential to break down seemingly insurmountable racial barriers. It fosters love, empathy, friendship, sexual fulfillment, personal happiness, and economic justice for people from all walks of life.


Still Skeptic After All These Years

Still Skeptic After All These Years

On my way back to New York I then got a tweet from a follower linking to yet another “I resign from the skeptic movement and hand in my skeptic card” article, written by a prominent (former) skeptic. It doesn’t matter who. The list of complaints by that author are familiar: a tendency toward scientism, a certain degree of sexism within the movement, and a public failure to lead by some of the de facto leaders. The same issues that I have been complaining about for years. But I have not quit, and do not intend to quit. Why?

Paul Kurtz Exemplifies the Magnificence of a Secular Life Worth Living

Paul Kurtz Exemplifies the Magnificence of a Secular Life Worth Living

When I think of Paul Kurtz, I think of three adjectives: Visionary, Indefatigable, and Productive.

Paul Kurtz was a visionary in many ways. Personally, I appreciated his recognition that the future of secular humanism had to include a more diverse demographic. The future of secular humanism cannot continue to ignore the more than 50 million people that we call Latinos/Hispanics in the United States, and he knew that.

Paul Kurtz was in the business of saving minds, not souls, and he was very good at it. He produced many followers who will continue his work. Paul Kurtz left us with organizations and other vehicles through which secular humanism continues to assert its place in the public square. Even his critics must acknowledge that.