What is Humanity?

The effort to distill the essence of humanity has defeated the best minds and thinkers throughout history. Such an effort is doomed to failure from the start. It exposes one to ignominious defeat and ridicule, which is exactly why I shall try. So, here goes nuthin'.

Why Jesus Christ is Important

Yes, he rewrote the compact (hence “testament”, both old and new) between God and Man. As a non-Christian, this not why he is important to me. However, he said: clothe the naked, feed the poor (Matthew 25). Certainly an important principle, regardless of your religion.

The Human Capacity for Compassion

The ability of humans to love and care for other species never ceases to amaze me. We are all know of cats and dogs and goldfish and rabbits: they become a member of our family. Even those who have physical defects or expensive medical problems usually find homes. Those who live in rural places regularly take in orphan wildlife, care for them, and release them back into the wild (assuming they will go: they often view their human caretakers as mom and dad and refuse to be kicked back into nature). 3 internet videos: a dolphin tangled in fishing line approaches a diver for help, a diver frees a whale shark tangled in fishing net, and a deer caught in a landslide on a road patiently waits while humans free it from the mud.

Love Thy Neighbor

The willingness to help one's family and friends is not surprising. What is surprising is that this generosity also extends to one's neighbors. There is no earthly reason for this, as neighbors are merely random, geographic happenstance.

Human Life is Not to be Squandered

A living soul is the most valuable resource we have. Abortion and the death sentence are 2 human institutions that are most regrettable.

The Holocaust: Never Forget

Yes, Nazism is evil and millions of Jews were murdered in cold blood. I believe, however that most people miss an even more important lesson: that rather ordinary humans can, with a small bit of clever prodding, be provoked into committing terrible atrocities against one another.

Music, Music, Music

There are 2 compositions that deserve to outlive the human race:
*Beethoven Symphony #5, 4^th movement: celebrating joy of the spirit
*The Creation, a Rock Cantata (Bobrowitz & Porter): celebrating the joy of the human voice

Romantic Love

Many species mate for life, but humans are not one of them, which makes lifelong devotion and sacrifice for a spouse all the more remarkable. We have all heard anecdotes of a couple married for decades where one spouse dies, and the other follows within weeks.

Generosity

The human institution of anonymous giving, where the donor has no idea who the recipient is, to a charitable organization is another rather remarkable human behavior.

Chivalry

When I was growing up, I was taught to never hit a girl/woman. I am now middle aged and on the cusp of being an old fogy, and still believe this to be proper behavior. In fact, this might be a good touchstone in evaluating a particular culture.

Old People

There is an old saying: you can judge a culture by examining how it treats the elderly. Thusly so.

Humanity—the Next Generation

What lies in store for the human race? Anyone who claims to have the answer is probably a charlatan. However, reviewing the ethics and morals of current day society, humans do not seem to have advanced much beyond Plato, Socrates, and the Golden Age of Greece.