Isn't It A Pity, Isn't It A Shame

What I find both fascinating, yet saddening about Humanism is that too few people feel drawn to act in such nature.

It’s a simple fact that no matter how much you might care for, or love someone or some thing, there will always be those who don’t reciprocate said feelings. Obliviousness seems to be something unavoidable as we encounter different things for the first time; however, I can’t understand those who act with the intention of bringing others down.







It seems as if religiousness is commonly and unjustifiably deemed as an individual’s righteousness. Too often I’ve been subjected to those who perceive themselves as a better person than I because of their religious subscription and my secularism, and too often have these people acted hypocrtically. Two quotations struck me whilst at high school:

“It is evil; who are we to believe we are better than others?” (Romans 2 : 1-11); and

“If someone says they love God but hate their brother or sister, they lie.” (1 John 4 : 7-2).

I find no enlightenment in questioning ‘what would Jesus do?’ or acting as a god-fearing individual. To me, there seems to be something wrong with the phrasing 'god-fear' in itself. This isn't to say that I have problems with those who do; however, I do believe that deeds speak stronger than words and especially more so than the superficial claim of religious association equaling morality.



Lately, and for varying reasons (the result of my own actions, as well as others'), I don’t see or think of myself as a good person. Moreover, I feel quite the opposite; however, I pride myself on being a drastically different person than that of my early to mid-teens. A lesson that I wish I had learned earlier in life is that of the ‘hypothetical situation’, and imagining how things would feel had they been done to you. I feel that acting with with this level of consciousness is the best that I can do.

It’s a shame that too many people simply don’t care.

Maybe we’re too afraid that the ‘nice guy finishes last’.



Photos by Elise Derwin