Promoting Planetary Ethics, Morality and Responsibility

by

Jack Van Pelt

All people born on this planet received a legacy from generations past, as will future generations. Such legacies as science, art, philosophy, humanism, freedom and equality, are treasured because they enhance the human condition. Unfortunately, for most of the earth’s inhabitants, the legacies they receive are greed, war, pollution, dominance, imposed ignorance, starvation, pain and suffering, and even death. The planet has become a playground for some of the world’s most immoral people to impose their will on the rest of humanity as well as on the earth itself. As the unfolding world events are becoming more global in nature, the need for a unified planetary response is becoming more evident. If such immorality and greed are left unchecked, the results will be devastating to the planetary and human condition. Even though the past cannot be changed, the future certainly can be, and that’s where we, the present, emerge as the shapers of the future.

What can be done?

The course is clear for individuals that believe in a human condition that includes freedom of speech, the right to a healthy and clean planet, the right to hold an individual belief system, and the freedom from those who would take away these rights.  Regardless of race, religion or ethnicity, likeminded people must work together as a planetary coalition, guided by ethics, science, reason, morality and empathy. This coalition must be vocal, active, and dedicated to using all the tools at their disposal to create a unified force that cannot be ignored.

What tools can be used?

• Ethics: Whether we are theists, agnostics, or atheists, we can live our lives with compassion, reason, ethics and morality, and should not take advantage of others just because their condition makes them vulnerable.  Our planetary responsibility should be to help the disadvantaged, not to exploit them.  The right course of action is rarely the easiest at first, so we must be strong, and also join forces with likeminded individuals.  There is strength in numbers.

• Truth: There is no substitute. We must become teachers and shine a light on ignorance and oppression. Not everyone is going to embrace the truth quickly or easily. For people to change their belief system, they have to be receptive to science and reason, and they have to be treated with the same respect that we would expect from them. That respect coupled with a humanist approach may just plant a seed that will grow into enlightenment.

• Humanism: We are all one planetary family, regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity.  What affects one of us will more than likely affect all of us.

• Tolerance: No two people will concur on every topic. My father used to tell me, “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”  While that old adage is probably true with flies, it also applies to people. You cannot ridicule someone’s beliefs and then expect fruitful dialogue to emerge.

• Politics: Form grassroots political organizations. We can vote against the officials that do not adhere to humanist ethics and vote for the officials that do. Support the candidates that are most aligned to the above beliefs. Support the organizations that are working to bring this metamorphosis about, for example, The Institute for Science and Human Values. These organizations need a lobbying arm that is working towards the same goals.

I believe that the moral, humanist and empathetic fraction of humanity outnumbers the immoral and greedy part.  I also believe that with perseverance and individual involvement we can eventually win this fight for a healthy planetary environment, where each individual has a chance for a good life. It won’t be easy and it’s certainly harder than doing nothing, but look at what doing nothing to change clearly bad situations has brought upon us in the past.