¿Hay un nuevo humanismo?
Parte de mensaje de R. Trelles a miembro del Movimiento
del Nuevo Humanismo (abr/97).
Favor disculpar que una parte está en inglés.
Obtener documento - Download document
ENGLISH VERSION
En los últimos meses he estado viendo lo que he podido sobre la
corriente del Nuevo Humanismo y he estado intercambiando con varios de
sus miembros.
No creo que existan "clases" de humanismo. Ni nuevo, ni secular,
ni universalista, ni cristiano, etc. Solo existen
grados de comprensión del humanismo y,
desafortunado pero común también,
hay quienes usan parcialmente el humanismo para
fundamentar ciertas agendas, buenas, malas o regulares. Estos
últimos lo hacen ya sea porque no lo han entendido bien
todavía o porque no quieren complicarse mucho
profundizando (también porque no lo han
entendido bien, como para saber que ¡sí merece la
pena profundizar y aplicarlo plenamente!).
El humanismo es tan sólido, completo y fundamentado en
las realidades de la vida, que resulta muy atractivo y nadie lo
puede refutar (excepto por mentiras, tergiversaciones, etc.). Lo
que lo hace excelente como fundamento para muchas agendas.
He notado cuatro obstáculos básicos a la
difusión y aprovechamiento pleno de la comprensión
humanista de la vida:
1. Como parece que hasta ahora no ha habido una
presentación clara y completa del humanismo, tenemos el
problema técnico de hacer llegar la
información a la gente y esperar el proceso de
asimilación de toda nueva información.
2. Muchas personas han sido adoctrinadas irracionalmente con que
"el humanismo es malo" y acondicionadas a bloquearse a su
acceso. La demostración práctica del
funcionamiento del humanismo rompe tarde o temprano
estas barreras.
3. Increiblemente, las personas demoran en asimilar el humanismo
porque lo ven "too good to be true" (tan bueno y claro, "que no
puede ser cierto"). Esta es una extensión del primer
caso.
4. Para la persona aprovechar el humanismo plenamente tiene que
deshacerse de los reflejos primarios animales del odio y
el resentimiento. De nuevo, un proceso de
evolución es requerido. ¡Que es dificultado porque muchos
manipuladores, incluso algunos que se llaman humanistas,
usan e incrementan el odio y el resentimiento
como medio fácil de mover a la gente!
Asi es que, si entendemos, de verdad, el humanismo y queremos,
de verdad, difundirlo y aplicarlo, tenemos que trabajar frente a
estos cuatro obstáculos.
Te voy a hacer algunas reflecciones sobre el escrito What Is
the Humanist Movement? que me mandaste. Si hicieras lo mismo
con los materiales en el sitio de MHEC, te lo
agradecería.
> ... in order to galvanize and orient the great changes that are coming...
> A great change is approaching.
Coming from where, and how? Are we expecting another "big bang"
or something? Or are we, childishly, hoping for things to get so
bad that big social convultions and revolutions will occur, that
would cleanse and make things right, and are we working to bring
them faster and bigger! Or that by complaining and exposing "bad
people" these will change?
> Our old ways of thinking are in crisis; they can no longer provide answers
> to today's problems.
All the basic facts of humanism are actually ancient. What is
new is putting them really and completely
together and putting them in an honest and intelligent way to
work.
> We believe in human beings, in their possibilities to change themselves and
> in their capacity to transform the world they live in.
Core humanist concepts, no doubts about it!
> We believe that history consists of the accumulating contributions to
> overcoming pain and suffering that pass from generation to generation.
That's too tragic a view.
> All of us have the right to adequate food, health care, education, and
> housing, and the right to build our future. Today it is entirely possible
> to fulfill these basic rights for all, although for this to become a
> reality we will need to change the existing primitive social system.
In basic terms, we don't have rights to
anything (such that if "the rest" don't grant those rights to
me, I am a "victim" of injustice, entitled to fight back, and
conquer what I am "entitled" to).
Nobody has to give me anything. I am not
entitled to nothing that I am not capable to generate its
equivalent for exchange. Again, in basic terms, society is
nothing but a mutual convenience association.
Now, as evolved humans, we can do far better than that. We can
educate people into the convenience and
pleasure of, first, help each other to develop
and be highly productive, and then to give back to each
one what the wealth he/she produces is worth. If necessary (as
it often is!), we can group and effectively and
soundly make democracy work to ensure this last.
Then we can even educate people into the
convenience and pleasure of helping people in
distress, and even to warrant a decent minimal survival to
absolutely everyone. But this is only a result of the normal
functioning of the normal, fully productive majority of society,
and their education. To start by pointing to "rights" to these
things are clear symptoms of demagogism!
> Every person, every country, all races and cultures have something to
> contribute to the world of the future - Humanists believe that every
> person counts.
Again, core humanist concepts. Everybody has more than something
to contribute.
> "Treat others as you would like to be treated"
I'm afraid most people don't fully know how they could or should
be treated, and can get more confused when asked to treat others
with the treatment they would dream to receive from them. It is
better to show everybody the ample possibilities of mutually
beneficial, and enjoyable, human relations. And to show
those relations in practice and to help people to progressively
carry them on.
> the H.M. supports a new model in which the human being is
> the central value - neither the State, Capital, God, nor any other entity
> or institution is placed above the human being
Both the State, Capital, "God" (churches), etc are made of
humans. The State should even be a mere instrument of the
society. So they shouldn't be seen separated from the human
beings. It's the humans in them that should change, with the
institutions changing accordingly.
> Instead of helping us develop and evolve, today's established value
> system continues to impose a way of life that is based on egoism and
> "every person for him or herself," which only intensifies the erosion of
> human values and meaning in life.
A bit too tragic, but mainly true. It's the value systems and
the systems.Now, any alternative system must be rooted in the
complexities of the human behavior. Dreaming of angelical
societies leads to nowhere except deception.
> we organize meetings to carry out works of personal
> development that enable us to connect with our inner force, ...
I think we are born all connected. We certainly do need to know
and develop our capabilities.
I don't know the details of those meetings, but I have H.M.
published speeches that include repetitive invocations and pleas
to "Guides", for strength, wisdom, etc.
There is no wisdom like (nor a surer one than) the one that
comes from real human experience, own or learned from other,
real, humans. There is no intellectual strength like the one
that comes from the realization of our real capabilities and
from a clear, sound, view of life.
Además, mientras preparaba estos comentarios recibí la Revista
Electrónica No. 9 del M.H. Es una señal extrema ver en ella
colaboraciones como las de Jorge D'Alesio y Jerome Smith, con
presentaciones de futuras sociedades "humanistas", en que todo es
perfecto, sin dinero y con plena abundancia para todos. Las que se
conseguirían con miles y millones uniendose al M.H. y con que,
poco a poco, la gente vaya regalando "objetos" hechos en su tiempo
libre.
Nadie con un mínimo sentido de la realidad puede creer tales
niñadas como posibles ni deseables. Aparentemente, suficientes
personas dudan o incluso se entusiasman con ellas. Pero de lo que nadie
tiene dudas, porque es un hecho, es de que el M.H. obtiene 260
dólares al año de cada persona que logra arrastrar con
tales ilusiones.
Este mensaje resultó siendo más duro que lo que imaginé
al empezar a escribirlo. Pero los problemas de la humanidad son
ciertamente muy serios y como estoy convencido de que
sí se pueden resolver y de que la solución
se basa en el humanismo completo, no vacilo un minuto en
hablar con total claridad. Porque creo en el ser humano y, por tanto en ti
amigo ... , que tarde o temprano vas a entender todo esto.
- - - - - - - - -
(Full original document follows)
What Is the Humanist Movement?
Definition
We are people from many different countries and cultures who are coming
together to organize, grow, and gain strength in order to galvanize and
orient the great changes that are coming so that they go in the direction
of a truly human society.
Origins
The Humanist Movement was founded in the late '60s by Mario Rodiguez
Cobos, better known as Silo, a thinker and author from Latin America
whose works have given rise to New Humanism. Since its founding the H.M.
has expanded to more than 75 countries on five continents.
Our Situation Today
A great change is approaching. Our old ways of thinking are in crisis;
they can no longer provide answers to today's problems. Human beings
have grown, and now feel stifled by today's social system that severely
deprives them of freedom. Increasingly, human beings are mistreated in
their work, cheated by the economic system, and lied to by politicians.
They feel a painful lack of communication with themselves and their
families.
The Core Ideas of New Humanism
We believe in human beings, in their possibilities to change themselves
and in their capacity to transform the world they live in.
We believe that history consists of the accumulating contributions to
overcoming pain and suffering that pass from generation to generation.
All of us have the right to adequate food, health care, education, and
housing, and the right to build our future. Today it is entirely possible
to fulfill these basic rights for all, although for this to become a
reality we will need to change the existing primitive social system.
Every person, every country, all races and cultures have something to
contribute to the world of the future - Humanists believe that every
person counts.
All discrimination and violence are repugnant to us. Our methodology for
transforming the world and ourselves is active non-violence.
We invite others to participate with us in the moral principle that says:
Treat others as you would like to be treated.
Overall Objectives
The Humanist Movement works for an overall change in society, which is
possible only by transforming the power structures of the present system
(the legal system and values that rule our social organization). To make
this a reality, the H.M. supports a new model in which the human being
is the central value - neither the State, Capital, God, nor any other
entity or institution is placed above the human being.
In addition, the H.M. aspires for human beings to surpass their personal
suffering, and to discover or strengthen the meaning of their lives. In
other words, we aim to transform today's established system of values.
Instead of helping us develop and evolve, today's established value
system continues to impose a way of life that is based on egoism and
"every person for him or herself," which only intensifies the erosion of
human values and meaning in life.
We aspire, then, to carry out social change and personal development
simultaneously.
How We Are Organized
As Humanists we organize meetings to carry out works of personal
development that enable us to connect with our inner force, to
communicate with each other, and to strengthen our faith and meaning
in life. These meetings take place each week in people's homes, our
humanist centers, or where we study or work.
We also develop tools for social action: neighborhood centers and
newspapers, local radio and TV stations, as well as publishing houses,
Centers of Communication, Humanist Clubs of all kinds, Multi-Cultural
Centers, and the Humanist Party, our instrument of political
expression.
The structure of the H.M. today consists of some 20,000 members. It is
organized simply, with orientors, who start new groups and launch
tools for action; administratives, who ensure that information
circulates effectively and reaches everyone who participates in the
H.M.; and support members, who assist other members in gaining
personal strength and development. The structure of the H.M. is
organized so that each person orients that part of the whole which he
or she has built.
Members of the structure make three commitments: to participate in the
weekly meetings of personal work; to make a twice-yearly contribution
of $130 to finance the worldwide activities of the structure; and to
take on the task of giving orientation in life to all those who need it.
Proposal
Our central activity now is to make our organization grow both in
numbers and capacity for action. We are carrying out an important
campaign to structure several hundred thousand people worldwide who
will give life to neighborhood, political, and institutional
activities to change society, and help to spread the word about this
movement. These are people who feel ready to make personal and social
changes that will initiate a new stage in human history.
(Si esta interesado puede visitar www.humanism.org)
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