Words for Humanity
benjs
Posts: 9,150
This is something I felt like writing. I don't know what I want to do with it, but I figured sharing it here first. If it's too fluffy for you, feel free to ignore it.
My name is Ben. It’s short for Benjamin, the name of my great grandfather’s. My Hebrew name, as chosen by my parents for me, is Avram. This is different from the Hebrew name “Avraham”; the additional syllable as seen in English is the additional Hebrew letter “hei”, and has biblical origins. From when Avram first witnessed God as spoken of in the Old Testament (or Bible, or Torah), he was reportedly told that his name henceforth would be Avraham, and the letter “hei” was indicative that god was with and within him.
I don’t know if my parents felt that “Avraham” (or Abraham) sounded too religious for their taste, but I certainly don’t think they meant it to imply a rejection of faith. Ironically, Avram suits me. From a young age, I questioned the merit of religion.
Agree or disagree with me, I see two main reasons for one to have a religious affiliation:
1) Obligation. Being born into a religion, and continuing out of respect for family history or cultural tradition.
2) Fulfillment. Possessing an inherent gut feeling (also known as faith) that, by following a respective guidebook written with supposed divine intervention (Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, etc.), one is living in the image of, or doing the work condoned by a deity.
As a person with a fairly mathematical mind, I am often drawn to the statistical feasibility of a notion before I am willing to accept it. For example, in 2012, by global percentage, Christianity held the most members, with just over 30% of the world’s population. Since Christians, Jews, and Muslims are “brothers of the book” (in other words, to varying degrees, find the Old Testament to be words from God), those three sects then join to represent just over 50% of the global population. If the odds of each religion’s deity having existed and divinely delivered a document outlining moral guidelines are equal, this means that either those who choose to follow the words of God as delivered in the Old Testament are correct, or incorrect. In either case, roughly 50% of the world (as a bare minimum) are statistically certain to be incorrect about the divinity of the words they consider holy - the words they feel are worth living by, fighting for, and dying by.
There is a singular demographic that we all belong to. It is a demographic which we were all divinely delivered by – whether you call that divinity God, Allah, Nature, The Universe, it simply doesn’t matter. It is a demographic that you were opted into when the miracle of birth occurred, when after an expression of love and plenty of months of suffering on your behalf, you were granted life. It is a demographic worth believing in, fighting for, and dying by. It is the demographic of humanity.
As a Jew, as a “brother of the book”, if I live by the words of my supposed God, the odds of my fulfillment of the hopes and wishes of a deity are about 50/50 under the assumption that I have interpreted these often cryptic words correctly. And that’s not good enough for me. As a Canadian, my concept of law would equal just under half of one percentage of the global population’s (assuming everyone within Canada has full agreement of what laws should be in place, which is not the case). That’s not good enough for me either. Amazingly, we still put credence in both religion and government-provided laws, and think of them as near absolutes.
What I am proposing is a very simple notion: if your primary allegiances are to anything but the human race, change that. I will not denounce my allegiances to Canada, the country that has given me a life full of beauty and diversity – even in spite of policies I disagree with. I will not denounce my allegiances to Judaism, a religion that has come with a rich culture and a fascinating history (despite the fact that I am, in actuality, an atheist). Despite what some may think, as a Jew, I have never had any allegiances to Israel (nor am I obligated to within Judaism), though if I did, I wouldn’t denounce those either. I will not denounce my allegiances to capitalism, the economic system that has rewarded my father’s hard work with benefits which my three siblings, and mother and I reap on a regular basis. What I will say is that these allegiances are immensely less significant than my main allegiance.
These days, I apply a very simple piece of logic as I try and digest information before deciding where I stand on any political, ethical, moral, economic conflict. When I pick a position (and as Howard Zinn wisely said, you can’t be neutral on a moving train), I ask myself a question: have I prioritized my allegiances correctly, and does my stance reflect that? And not in a superficial way: read the context of a situation. Educate yourself, and not just from one perspective. Read everything you can. You’ll likely encounter propaganda in places you expected, and places you didn’t. You’ll likely learn something you didn’t know. You’ll certainly empathize in ways you didn’t think you would.
So, my fellow human beings, will you label yourself as a Jew? A Muslim? A Christian? A Canadian? A Palestinian? A South African? Or will you reject these subsets, and label yourself as a human who stands for humanistic action?
A demographic worth belonging to is one which will encourage you to ask questions, to make discoveries, to expose atrocities, and to bring about change. To agree or to disagree as you see fit. To embrace love and reject hate. The only demographic I belong to where I have seen this unequivocally presented is the human demographic. This is where I fit in: with my brothers and sisters of the world (and the Martians if you’re out there). The ones who kiss to express love, cry to express empathy, and speak up to promote change. Humans of the world, now is the time to unite. Don’t let where you come from suppress your voice. Don’t let fear of judgment cloud your vision. Be a human being. If we all took a human-first stance, just try and convince me the world wouldn’t be a better place. This is an absolute truth that, no matter how many people tell me otherwise – I will refuse adamantly.
My name is Ben. It’s short for Benjamin, the name of my great grandfather’s. My Hebrew name, as chosen by my parents for me, is Avram. This is different from the Hebrew name “Avraham”; the additional syllable as seen in English is the additional Hebrew letter “hei”, and has biblical origins. From when Avram first witnessed God as spoken of in the Old Testament (or Bible, or Torah), he was reportedly told that his name henceforth would be Avraham, and the letter “hei” was indicative that god was with and within him.
I don’t know if my parents felt that “Avraham” (or Abraham) sounded too religious for their taste, but I certainly don’t think they meant it to imply a rejection of faith. Ironically, Avram suits me. From a young age, I questioned the merit of religion.
Agree or disagree with me, I see two main reasons for one to have a religious affiliation:
1) Obligation. Being born into a religion, and continuing out of respect for family history or cultural tradition.
2) Fulfillment. Possessing an inherent gut feeling (also known as faith) that, by following a respective guidebook written with supposed divine intervention (Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, etc.), one is living in the image of, or doing the work condoned by a deity.
As a person with a fairly mathematical mind, I am often drawn to the statistical feasibility of a notion before I am willing to accept it. For example, in 2012, by global percentage, Christianity held the most members, with just over 30% of the world’s population. Since Christians, Jews, and Muslims are “brothers of the book” (in other words, to varying degrees, find the Old Testament to be words from God), those three sects then join to represent just over 50% of the global population. If the odds of each religion’s deity having existed and divinely delivered a document outlining moral guidelines are equal, this means that either those who choose to follow the words of God as delivered in the Old Testament are correct, or incorrect. In either case, roughly 50% of the world (as a bare minimum) are statistically certain to be incorrect about the divinity of the words they consider holy - the words they feel are worth living by, fighting for, and dying by.
There is a singular demographic that we all belong to. It is a demographic which we were all divinely delivered by – whether you call that divinity God, Allah, Nature, The Universe, it simply doesn’t matter. It is a demographic that you were opted into when the miracle of birth occurred, when after an expression of love and plenty of months of suffering on your behalf, you were granted life. It is a demographic worth believing in, fighting for, and dying by. It is the demographic of humanity.
As a Jew, as a “brother of the book”, if I live by the words of my supposed God, the odds of my fulfillment of the hopes and wishes of a deity are about 50/50 under the assumption that I have interpreted these often cryptic words correctly. And that’s not good enough for me. As a Canadian, my concept of law would equal just under half of one percentage of the global population’s (assuming everyone within Canada has full agreement of what laws should be in place, which is not the case). That’s not good enough for me either. Amazingly, we still put credence in both religion and government-provided laws, and think of them as near absolutes.
What I am proposing is a very simple notion: if your primary allegiances are to anything but the human race, change that. I will not denounce my allegiances to Canada, the country that has given me a life full of beauty and diversity – even in spite of policies I disagree with. I will not denounce my allegiances to Judaism, a religion that has come with a rich culture and a fascinating history (despite the fact that I am, in actuality, an atheist). Despite what some may think, as a Jew, I have never had any allegiances to Israel (nor am I obligated to within Judaism), though if I did, I wouldn’t denounce those either. I will not denounce my allegiances to capitalism, the economic system that has rewarded my father’s hard work with benefits which my three siblings, and mother and I reap on a regular basis. What I will say is that these allegiances are immensely less significant than my main allegiance.
These days, I apply a very simple piece of logic as I try and digest information before deciding where I stand on any political, ethical, moral, economic conflict. When I pick a position (and as Howard Zinn wisely said, you can’t be neutral on a moving train), I ask myself a question: have I prioritized my allegiances correctly, and does my stance reflect that? And not in a superficial way: read the context of a situation. Educate yourself, and not just from one perspective. Read everything you can. You’ll likely encounter propaganda in places you expected, and places you didn’t. You’ll likely learn something you didn’t know. You’ll certainly empathize in ways you didn’t think you would.
So, my fellow human beings, will you label yourself as a Jew? A Muslim? A Christian? A Canadian? A Palestinian? A South African? Or will you reject these subsets, and label yourself as a human who stands for humanistic action?
A demographic worth belonging to is one which will encourage you to ask questions, to make discoveries, to expose atrocities, and to bring about change. To agree or to disagree as you see fit. To embrace love and reject hate. The only demographic I belong to where I have seen this unequivocally presented is the human demographic. This is where I fit in: with my brothers and sisters of the world (and the Martians if you’re out there). The ones who kiss to express love, cry to express empathy, and speak up to promote change. Humans of the world, now is the time to unite. Don’t let where you come from suppress your voice. Don’t let fear of judgment cloud your vision. Be a human being. If we all took a human-first stance, just try and convince me the world wouldn’t be a better place. This is an absolute truth that, no matter how many people tell me otherwise – I will refuse adamantly.
'05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
0
Comments
I'm not religious at all but i know you're my friend as i'm yours ....
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Thank you.