Humanist President Kurt Vonnegut Mourned
April 12, 2007
Kurt Vonnegut, who died Wednesday night
in New York, was honorary president of the American Humanist Association. “I
am a humanist,” he wrote in a letter to the organization’s members, “which
means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without expectations of
rewards or punishments after I am dead.”
Today Roy Speckhardt, the Executive Director of the American Humanist
Association, said, "Vonnegut's sarcasm was so thick that those less familiar
with him had trouble seeing through to his pointed commentary on the state
of the world." One example of his sarcasm had some intelligent design
supporters quoting Vonnegut for saying "I do feel that evolution is being
controlled by some sort of divine engineer. I can't help thinking that. And
this engineer knows exactly what he or she is doing and why, and where
evolution is headed. That's why we've got giraffes and hippopotami and the
clap." Of course, Vonnegut was completely secular in his outlook and enjoyed
taking jabs at those who would skirt the teaching of evolution by promoting
so-called "intelligent design."
In his 2005 book, “A Man Without a Country” he made a special request: “And
if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say, ‘Kurt is up in heaven
now.’ That's my favorite joke.”
In 2003, when asked permission to quote from something he’d written,
Vonnegut wrote back to the American Humanist Association, “Find here my
permission for you to quote any damn fool thing I’ve ever said or written,
throughout all eternity, and without any further notice or compensation to
me.”
Vonnegut grew up in a family of German-American freethinkers and throughout
his life held to a philosophical view that, from a cosmic perspective,
existence is meaningless but that this is redeemed by human kindness or, as
he sometimes said, “the few saintly people among us.” This outlook was
summed up in his 1965 novel, "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater."
"By those who knew him, Kurt will be remembered for his direct personal
approach; he will also be remembered for his acerbic wit and humor and his
unflagging support for humanist concerns," concluded Speckhardt.
And so it goes.
Numerous people have written in to express their thoughts and remembrances of Kurt Vonnegut:
Len Lattanzi of Los Altos, CA : “Kilgore Trout is in heaven now.”
Ron Rocco of Brooklyn, New York: “forever young”
Jennifer R Kellogg of Chicago, IL: “Kurt, thanks for everything you brought to the world. I'll miss you.”
Dan Hadley of Studio City, CA: “He is in Heaven now.”
David Merlin of San Francisco, CA: “Kurt Vonnegut became my hero when I was introduced to his writings in 1969. He helped define our generation and expand awareness of decent behavior and right living in the simplest and most poetic of ways. I cherish the lessons he gave and carry his wisdom and influence in all my worldly travels: speaking out for those who cannot speak for themselves; living life filled with love and laughter; seeing discipline as merely rhythm with a purpose; global economics also brings a global society where all share the tribe's provisions and the most significant for me when injustice leads to immobilized anger, ‘don't be outraged............be outrageous!’ He is a friend I never met, a voice of hope and faith in the abundance of the universe that never waivers. Be well dear friend.”
