People helping people.
We are a group of humans in middle Tennessee who like to hang out, volunteer, and help each other navigate life together. We are Middle Tennessee Humanists.
The Ten Commitments
As Humanists, we are committed to living out “The Ten Commitments” as defined by the American Humanist Association. In our own words, this is what we are about:
Altruism
Altruism, as the American Humanist Association defines it, is “helping others in need without hoping for rewards”. This is displayed in acts of service performed with humility. How does one achieve this feat? How does one help others without expecting reciprocity, without seeking recognition for one’s good deeds? In shifting the center of one’s identity from oneself to the universal, to humanity itself, altruism comes naturally. For if you see yourself as what flows through you, helping others is just you being yourself. The action becomes the reward; by recognizing our common humanity we can take pleasure in the happiness of others as if they were ourselves.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is not thinking critically of others, but rather “practicing good judgment by asking questions and thinking for oneself.” Two contradicting claims to truth cannot both be exclusively correct; either one is correct and the other is wrong, both are wrong, or there is a higher truth that reconciles their supposed contradiction. Discerning the path to take in the face of contradiction is the path of spiritual and intellectual development, and blindly accepting a single claim as ultimate truth stunts one’s growth. As part of our commitment to critical thinking, we remain open to the possibility that we can be wrong, and we seek truth together as a community.
Empathy
Empathy is “considering other people’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences.” Empathy comes more naturally to one who’s heart is open to the world. One who hides away from the world will have a difficult time empathizing with others, for empathy comes from having similar experiences and recognizing that if one was in the same position, one would have a similar reaction or emotion. If one is insulated from the outside world, fearing the foreigner and the stranger, they may not recognize the common humanity in those who are different from them. We are committed to cultivating empathy in ourselves, through intentionally going out of our comfort zones and facing the unknown together, so that we may grow to see ourselves in every person.
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is “taking care of the Earth and the life on it”. The name “humanism” may seem to imply that humanists only care about humans. However letting one’s care stop at the boundary of our species is not in the spirit of humanism, for humanism is about breaking down boundaries and recognizing a greater unity – seeing the humanity in everyone, even if they look or think differently than you. Why stop at humans? The most obvious commonality that breaks down boundaries and allows us to recognize our shared humanity is that we all stem from the same source: earth. It is our home, and it is also the home all other life as we know it. We all share the same home, and we are committed to treating it with care, both for humanity and for our extended family on the evolutionary tree.
Ethical Development
Ethical Development is to “always focus on becoming a better person”. Being a better person only has substance in community, for it has to do with how we treat one another. The ethical life is the social life, and we learn how to be a better person by engaging with others. This learning process is an iterative one, because we are bound to make mistakes, offend each other and step on each other toes. The ways in which we fall short are felt through interpersonal friction, and the development is realized through resolution, in humility and forgiveness. Nobody is perfect; we are all just waking up on this blue marble. We are committed to endure the friction of community, be humble enough to admit we can be wrong, and be empathetic enough to forgive others.
Global Awareness
Global Awareness is “being a good neighbor to the people who share the Earth with oneself and helping make the world a better place for everyone.” To become aware of the world, one must experience the world, and engage in critical thinking to find ways to best improve the world. As part of our commitment to global awareness, we are open to learning about different cultures and ways of life, and we strive to treat everyone with equal dignity and respect. We also are committed to educating ourselves on best practices for community care, so that we will be better equipped to help our neighbors. We all live on the same pale blue dot, and it is up to us to figure out how to best share it.
Humility
Humility is “being aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses, and appreciating the strengths and weaknesses of others.” We are all equal, as in we are all human and equally deserving of dignity, but we are not equal in our strengths and weaknesses. We all have different abilities, experiences, and knowledge. This is because we have a limited lifespan and therefore cannot learn everything or master every skill. If we lived forever, we might be able to master everything but then wouldn’t really need each other, and where is the beauty in that? Humility is found in accepting one’s physical mortality, and appreciating one’s interdependence with the whole of humanity and the earth. We are committed to do the inner work necessary to live humbly, in interdependence with each other.
Peace and Social Justice
Peace and Social Justice is “helping people solve problems and handle disagreements in ways that are fair for everyone.” In community, as part of one’s ethical development, one will experience friction, because everyone has different goals and perspectives. Finding ways to reconcile disagreements that arise from living with others is like clearing blockages in the river of the spirit of humanity, allowing it to flow freely once again. To do so, one must let go of one’s own personal agenda and act on behalf of the whole. This requires humility and an altruistic spirit, as well as critical thinking to discern the right path to take. We are committed to growing in discernment by handling disagreements in our local communities, so that we will be more capable to achieve peace and justice at the regional, national, and eventually, global level.
Responsibility
Responsibility is “being a good person—even when no one is looking—and owning the consequences of one’s actions.” If someone only helps others to receive rewards and acknowledgement, their good behavior will only show itself when observed by others. If this is the case, they have not yet reached the level of awareness that makes altruism come naturally, and their reputation as a “good person” will be fragile, just a façade. The responsible person can enter and build community with confidence, and the path to responsibility is one of humility and ethical development, of being open to learning from one’s mistakes and receiving constructive feedback from others. We are committed to cultivating responsibility through acts of service and through engaging in reciprocity with one another.
Service and Participation
Service and Participation is “helping my community in ways that let me get to know the people I’m helping.” Service and participation differs from charity, which is often detached from those receiving the help. Charity by itself can actually reinforce the structure of inequality. If one wants to truly make an impact, charity must be paired with helping people in a way where one actually encounters those who need the help. Encountering the needy enables one to gain empathy for their situation, and begin to understand the conditions that caused their problems in the first place. If we hide away and avoid encountering the very people that we are “helping”, it is easy to reduce them to an abstract concept, thus stripping them of their humanity. And if we cannot recognize the humanity of our neighbors, how can we call ourselves humanists?
These are the “Ten Commitments” of Humanism. They are not the “Ten Commandments”, but rather they are our commitments, expressions of our common values that point towards a better future for all of humanity.