Gerald Larue, Emeritus Professor of Religion at the University of Southern California and a person familiar to all humanists, has written an essay which deals with equal opportunity - and much more. At one point he states that "At the core.... is support for the universal declarations of human rights that embrace all human beings."
His entire paper is based on this and similar humanist principles and values:
1. Humanistic values for the 21st century must be secular, democratic, and pluralistic.
2. Humanistic values for the 21st century must be global.
3. Humanistic values for the 21st century must be based on a familial ethic.
4. Humanistic global familial values for the 21st century must embrace a survival ethic.
5. Humanistic global survival values for the 21st century require that we treat one another as members of a family, which means that we must look out for and care about one another's welfare.
6. Humanistic global family values must express concern for the health and well-being of all members of the human family.
7. Humanistic global family values demand familial responsibility as we face the problem of population control.
8. Humanistic values must be taught.
9. Humanistic global family values must be concerned with providing each member of the human family with the means to become involved in meaningful work, employment or efforts designed to promote the well-being of the entire human family.
And he concludes with this statement that says it all:
For the world of the 21st century, humanistic values must project the vision of a peaceful world in which no man, woman or child, or class of men, women, or children shall live as servants or slaves existing simply to fulfill the whims and wishes and desires of others, a world in which no man or woman or child shall be used as a tool to satisfy the lusts or greed or ambitions of others, a world in which every human life, the life of every man, woman, and child shall be a wanted, welcomed, and esteemed member of the one human family.
The essay is available on line at: www.humanismtoday.org/vol12/larue.html
Fred Edwords essay written in 1984 is similar to Gerald Larue's in that it too touches on the broad scope of humanist principles and values - including equal opportunity. He lists and briefly discusses eight basic principles, five tentative beliefs about the world, and six current positions on social policy - including this:
As humanists who see potential in people at all levels of society, we encourage an extension of participatory democracy so that decision-making becomes more decentralized and thus involves more people We look forward to widespread participation in the decision-making process in areas such as the family, the school, the work place, institutions, and government. In this context, we see no place for prejudice on the basis of race, nationality, color, sex, sexual orientation, age, political persuasion, religion, or philosophy. And we see every basis for the promotion of equal opportunity in the economy and in universal education. (Emphasis added)
The essay is available on line at: www.infidels.org/library/modern/fred.../perspective.html
