"Some of mankind’s most terrible misdeeds have been committed under the spell of certain magic words or phrases" ~ James Bryant Conant

"We have made the Reich by propaganda" ~Joseph Paul Goebels

Oh no, not another resolution! ‘Fraid so. Our lives consist of gathering together pictures, images, stereotypes on which we develop our philosophy - as humanists, like to call it our life stance. How we determine what we’ve done, are doing, will do. As the musical "South Pacific" chides us, "We have to be carefully taught." The lessons are as simple as hyphens, Afro-American, Secular-Humanist, or even the GEICO-Gecko. Images unrelentingly poured over us in the Sermation (Service-Information-Automation) age. Many kindle a cosmic compassion like Carl Sagan reminding us we’re all star dust - but include the shouted cynicism of a Rush Limbaugh. Our reptilian brain has long known to fight or flee at a whisper….As patriots and consumers we’re daily trained in the "Them-Us" dialectic; helping us properly understand our place in the pecking order. Abstraction rules! Are we Left or Right? A Chicago bartender once confided to me that the darker one’s complexion, the lower one sinks on society’s totem pole. Guess I was light enough for him to share that wisdom with, and seemed affronted to be reminded our most treasured document begins with the pronoun "We". Patriotism and religion, often the refuge of scoundrels, cradle much stereotypical thought. Oddly while Hindus may fear not being cremated, some Christians still want their bodies intact to wander heaven. Or wherever? Westerners appear to favor large, blonde shapely people, while one of the most impressive humans I’ve encountered failed five foot in stature. Yet, this Sri Lankin monk exuded an aura of spiritual tsunami coupled with a child-like openness. Probably like you, my own life images and pre-conceptions never cease to trip me up. Notions of what constitutes human merit. Pride and idealism ever ride for a fall. Yet "South Pacific" goes on to tout "cock-eyed optimists like us. Wine merchants in ancient Greece poured molten wax into their wine amphoras. Wine paid for was not what you got. Hence our word "sincere". Sin (without) Cere (wax). Today’s media cheat on our wine, and what we see is not what we get! So here’s the resolution thing. A humanist life stance requires devotion to democracy, natural knowledge, and reason in the service of compassion,. Also avoiding pre-conceived notions and conclusions jumped to on our behalf. Not even whether the glass is half empty or half full, but are its contents real and thirst quenching? This is the year for trying out new brands!

SHALOM