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And then, we can now...
It seems to me
Are you going to take notes?
As it should be.
Perfect.
It is all well.
Greetings
From this Center of Studies
I want to greet
the friends congregated in
Caucaia Park,
near Sao Paulo;
in Attigliano Park, near Rome;
in Manantiales Park, near Santiago;
in Toledo Park, near Madrid;
in Red Bluff Park, near San Francisco;
in La Reja Park, near Buenos Aires;
in Kandroli Ashram, near Mumbai;
in Kohanoff Park, near Resistencia;
in Punta de Vacas Park, between Chile and Argentina.
I trust
that in the next months
our reflections
can reach
not only the main Parks
located in the different continents,
countries and regions,
but other smaller ones,
to all the Halls, big and little and the Centers
which so many dear people visit.
The Message and Humanists
I take this opportunity to reach out
to all the places
where this human gathering
makes of the Message a profound reference.
But, we should clarify,
to these places go not only people
that adhere to this spiritual,
ethereal and disorganized Message,
but also those organized members
of the Humanist Movement
who work vigorously to Humanize the Earth.
I especially address the latter
on this occasion.
Of course,
I should not and I cannot give an opinion on the functioning
or on the diverse activities the Humanist Movement produces,
but neither can I stop encouraging
this colossal undertaking,
which is so strongly required in the present circumstances.
The world, more than in other times, is in need of Humanism,
and we are in need of Humanism
because clearly we feel the urge for the progressive humanization of the world.
Humanist Action
I want to emphasize the need for humanist action
in different cultural environments
and in diverse population strata because,
it happens, contrary and unfortunately,
that the events are indicating
an overflow of violence in all fields,
and a deterioration of all references
for the individuals and the people.
It is not useless to point out
that Universal Humanism
has today the possibility of creating
a non-violent conscience and action,
and to become a reference for broad sectors of the world’s population.
It is clear that Humanism, to be effective,
must have an organized Movement,
participatory and flexible,
giving special importance to the diffusion of its ideas and activities.
So then, the Humanist Movement
should clarify itself
regarding its fundamental characteristics
and, at the same time, clarify this for the organizations
to which it gives origin and inspiration.
Social, cultural, political organizations,
and action fronts that consider themselves humanists,
should coincide in their basic proposals
at the same time that they follow a general strategy
of the diverse and of the convergent.
Clarification and reflective action
Naturally,
to clarify itself regarding its fundamental characteristics
and to clarify this for the organizations to which it gives origin and inspiration,
the Movement should study and diffuse
its foundational documents
and the new documents that respond to the most recent needs.
This subject is of the utmost importance
because it is not only about a decisive
and almost reflex type of action in the social environment,
but rather a reflective action
that requires a total comprehension of that which is being done.
It is important to comprehend the meaning of the action
and not to accept a confused medley of empty slogans
that fill the media.
It is equally necessary
to reach the people with brief and consistent expositions
formulated in most cases only through the televised media.
But, without a doubt, the best diffusion
will be based, not only on core proposals
but also on exemplary actions
capable of giving participation to ample segments of the population.
On the other hand, we must recognize
that the Humanist Movement has been born and has developed
during an epoch of world crisis
and because of that it does not feel horrified by change
and by the continuous adaptation to the new times.
Accordingly, to perfect its organizational flexibility
is a connatural direction to its development.
Acceleration and reaction
In any case, we must admit
that the situation of continued
and progressive crisis that the citizens live with today
goes on undermining the possibilities to foresee events
and, in such a state of things
the people feel the frustration of the future
and increasingly distrust any proposal
that goes beyond that which is immediate.
All of this is accompanied by the dissolution of structures
that, until recently, were references for people.
The acceleration of historical tempo that, not long ago,
ended up finishing,
the feudal and colonial remnants,
has continued to advance towards the frail structures of the nation states.
At the same time, regionalizations continue to advance, not without obstacles,
against the old agonizing nationalism.
This dynamic includes many reactions
which we can also observe in the growing chauvinism
in the core of the countries and national regions,
and also, more amplified, in the center of the international regions
which tend to excessive affirmation
of the supranational culture.
Such a reaction of the supranational cultures is modeling
new glorifications of its own culture
and the demonizing of other cultures.
So then, if we consider the cultures affected
by the aggression of external factors
we go on encountering certain institutions, and social customs
that give cohesion to the affected peoples,
with vindication and acts of revenge each time more violent.
Therefore, the growing attacks of imperialism,
which affirms its own “interests”
and with that it justifies the violence of one culture over others,
correspond to an augmentation of the general violence of the cultures
that arise against those aggressors
that not only make a mistake regarding the planning of their profits and losses
but also ignore the procedures to retreat
when it is already too late.
Humanism and cultural thesis
Universal Humanism
must act in the different cultures
respecting the differences among them,
respecting the cultural norms, customs and religions of each one,
at the same time rejecting all discrimination
and affirming the freedom of the human being over its cultural characteristics.
Universal Humanism
must emphasize its conception over the distinct cultural theses,
as stated at its origin.
Its missionary vocation in the different countries and cultures
has been a demonstration by example
even before the times when the malady of the current century began to unraveled.
Humanist Document
To conclude,
friends that are in the different Parks,
I want to remember the first words of the Humanist Document
that were formed on April 5th 1993
and surely they are relevant here.
With them:
“Humanists are women and men of this century, of this time.
They recognize the achievements of humanism throughout history,
and find inspiration in the contributions of many cultures,
not only those that today occupy center stage.
They are also men and women who recognize that this century and this millennium are drawing to a close,
and their project is a new world.
Humanists feel that their history is very long
and that their future will be even longer.
As optimists who believe in freedom and social progress,
they fix their gaze on the future,
while striving to overcome the general crisis of today.
Humanists are internationalists,
aspiring to a universal human nation.
While understanding the world they live in as a single whole,
humanists act in their immediate surroundings.
Humanists seek not a uniform world but a world of multiplicity:
diverse in ethnicity, languages and customs;
diverse in local and regional autonomy;
diverse in ideas and aspirations;
diverse in beliefs, whether atheist or religious;
diverse in occupations and in creativity.
Humanists do not want masters;
they have no fondness for authority figures or bosses.
Nor do they see themselves as representatives or bosses of anyone else.
Humanists want neither a centralized State
nor a Parastate in its place.
Humanists want neither a police state
nor armed gangs as the alternative.
But a wall has arisen between humanist aspirations
and the realities of today’s world.
The time has come to tear down that wall.
To do this, all humanists of the world must unite”.