 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Home >> Press Room >>Remarks by Tony Hileman |
|||
|
|||
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Remarks by Tony Hileman — National Day of ReasonGood morning. Thank you for being here and thank you
for your interest in the National Day of Reason. I’m Tony Hileman, executive director of the American Humanist Association. The people I introduce will provide more details on this important day, a local perspective on the events surrounding it, and considerable expertise on the subject of church-state separation. Their remarks will be followed by an open question and answer period. And after that we’ll all be available for individual follow up. But first I want to give you some brief background on Humanism and the American Humanist Association, and what has brought us to this critical juncture. As it says in our recently released Humanism and Its Aspirations, or
Humanist Manifesto III, “Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that,
without supernaturalism, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical
lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.” Those of us who adhere to the Humanist lifestance
place reliance in our ability to progress toward our highest ideals without
supernatural assistance from a god, gods or goddesses, or an impersonal
mystical force. Further, we pursue those highest ideals in the realization that
the personal fulfillment that such a pursuit can bring must be consonant with
social responsibility. Or, as our honorary president, Kurt Vonnegut, succinctly
puts it, “Being a Humanist means trying to behave decently without expectations
of rewards or punishment after you’re dead.” Humanism’s heritage dates to well before the classic
Greek philosophers with tendrils reaching back to ancient Eastern thinkers.
However, the solidifying point of view of Humanism was first expressed in Humanist Manifesto I, in 1933. The men
responsible for its articulation—and yes, they were all men—came together in
1927 as the Humanist Fellowship. That segued via the Humanist Press Association
into the American Humanist Association in 1941. Today, at the ripe old age of
62, the AHA is the oldest and the largest Humanist organization in the United
States. Democratically structured with a board directly elected by its
6,000-plus membership, the AHA is headquartered in Washington, DC, where it has
had a presence since 1999. Our mission is to be a clear, democratic voice for
Humanism in the United States, to increase public awareness and acceptance of
Humanism, to establish, protect and promote the position of Humanists in our
society, and to develop and advance Humanist thought and action. The National
Day of Reason significantly furthers all these ends. We are hosting our 62nd annual national conference
here in Washington next week, May 9–11, when we will be honoring Helen Thomas,
Kate Michelman, Rabbi Sherwin Wine, and Gloria Feldt for their contributions to
Humanism and Humanist causes. Also speaking at the conference are Lester R.
Brown, Ralph Nader, ex-eagle scout Darrell Lambert, and many national and
international Humanist leaders. Further information on the conference and the
American Humanist Association can be found on our website at
www.AmericanHumanist.org. The National Day of Reason sprang from a deep
concern over the increasing rhetoric of exclusion issuing from our national
leaders. In local events across our land today, we band together with others in
the community of reason, and invite those in the community of faith to join
with us, in a plea for a return to the American ideals of democracy, diversity,
and inclusion. When our chief executive speaks out—not as a private
citizen but from his public office—on how we are a nation of prayer beholden to
one almighty God for all our achievements and potential progress, when he
speaks more as a preacher than a political leader, when he endorses the
National Day of Prayer with his office and his participation those who do not
share his particular sectarian beliefs are excluded and feel the sharp sting of
discrimination. As president, it is not his responsibility to minister to those
who share his personal religious convictions but rather his duty to administer
on behalf of all Americans. Throughout history theocracies have demonstrated
that God and government do not mix. It is a mistake foreseen by our nation’s
founders. James Madison warned against using “religion as an engine of policy…”
Yet today the trend of governmental religiosity has more than breached the
Jeffersonian wall of separation between church and state; it has gone past
involving religion in government to religious preference by government. There’s
no better example of that than the National Day of Prayer, and so we call for
this National Day of Reason. The message and decisions of our national leaders
affect millions of lives, often in grave ways. Let us not place those lives in
unnecessary jeopardy by turning a blind eye to reason while awaiting
inspiration or intervention. Official prayers of petition and intercession do
not belong in the halls of reason, or justice, or congress. They are private
matters not to be imposed on others through governmental sanction or
permission. American patriotism is founded in the confidence
that humanity itself has the ability to progress toward its highest ideals. Let
us strive together through effort and example to make it a world of peace and
cooperation. We invite all Americans to join us in observing this
National Day of Reason. That invitation comes not just the American Humanist
Association and the Washington Area Secular Humanists, but from the 45 other
national and local group across the land who have endorsed it, and the hundreds
of Americans from nearly every state in the union and the District of Columbia
who have added their support.
On behalf of all these groups and individuals, we
ask people to stand together with us to support reason, to support religious
freedom, and to safeguard the constitutional protection that keeps government
out of our private religious or philosophical beliefs. And now I would like to introduce Steven
Goldberg, a member of the board of directors of the Washington Area Secular
Humanists, the largest of the AHA’s 100 local chapters and affiliates, indeed
the largest local humanist organization of any kind. He is chair of their
Activism and Outreach Committee is also on the faculty of the Institute for
Humanist Studies. Edd Doerr is president of Americans for
Religious Liberty and a past president of the American Humanist Association. A
Humanist Celebrant and signer of both Humanist Manifestos II and III, Edd is a
prolific writer and the author, co-author, editor, or translator of over 20
books. He is also a preeminent authority on the separation of church and state. Speeches from the Press Conference, May 1, 2003: National Day of Reason Celebrated as Alternative to National Day of Prayer
|
|
||||
 |
||||||
|
 |
 |