Activism

The Occupy Wall Street movement is an example of productive activism that is consistent with humanist ideals, in my opinion. It is nonviolent. It is anti-materialist. It is focused on social economic justice. The focus of the movement is working against  growing economic inequality due to the endless greed of corporate capitalism's control of our government.

These brave activists have gone to the dragon's lair, where money manipulates all aspects of life in the U.S. and perhaps the world. They are calling the bluff of those capitalists who claim they are spreading 'freedom' with war and monetary manipulation. These activists are practicing true freedom of speech and dissent in the face of those who try to buy conformity and submission through Madison Avenue and lobbyists in D.C..

Humanism, as I know it, lives on the street, in the home and in the classroom. Humanism is teaching a child from poverty to read and study. It is changing soiled sheets on a sick bed. It is holding the hand of the dying. Those who stand nonviolently against materialism and the exploitation of people for money are humanists, whether they would identify with that label or not. The label itself means nothing. The good that is done for people in the face of those who seek power over them means everything to the true humanist.