The Humanevangelist: How Technology Can Help Restore Peace and Justice
It’s the most vicious of cycles: somewhere, amid normal law enforcement, a police officer unjustifiably kills a black man; somewhere, amid peaceful protests, a black man ambushes and kills police officers. As of this writing,... Read More
The Humanevangelist: The New PC Can You Hurt a Robot’s Feelings?
In 1974 Morris Albert cowrote and recorded a sappy, lugubrious ballad called “Feelings” that soon became an international plague hit, covered by many other singers, easy-listening bands, and elevators. Curiously, Albert was never charged with... Read More
The Humanevangelist: Good-Bye, Columbus—Hello, Regrettable Replacement
In Seattle, as in a growing roster of US cities and the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, and South Dakota, Columbus Day is done. Seattle’s city council has abolished the longstanding holiday, replacing it with... Read More
The Humanevangelist: Human Trafficking Jam Sorting Out Consensual Sex from Slavery, Coercion, and Abuse
On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court righted a longstanding wrong by ruling for same-sex marriage. The Obergefell v. Hodges decision includes a ringing affirmation of evolving moral views: The nature of injustice is... Read More
The Humanevangelist: The Pope’s Encyclical on Climate: Laudable Goal, Lamentable Doctrine
As someone who has long called for humanists and mainstream religionists to work together, I naturally welcome Pope Francis’s call for action on climate change. The headline version of his encyclical is, on the whole,... Read More
The Humanevangelist: How to Keep Bad Terrorist Seeds from Growing? Hold the Fertilizer
In 1857, the French poet Charles Baudelaire published a collection titled, Les Fleurs du mal, or “The Flowers of Evil.” Today, such flowers seem to be popping up all over, most profusely in the Middle... Read More
The Humanevangelist: Senate Torture Report: Coming to Grips with a Shameful Truth
[Warning: This article contains disturbing material… because it’s about the CIA torture program.] Suppose that you are a man advancing in years who has yearned all his life to become a father. You and your... Read More