Only Human

Not too long ago, I heard someone make a plea to a group that he was addressing to the effect that people who come to him with grievances would not be so overtly hostile. After all, he was only human, with feelings like everyone else. And while I agreed and sympathized with him, his invocation of his own humanity gave me some food for thought. Maybe you've heard Billy Joel's old mid-1980s hit Only Human, where he states "You're SUPPOSED to make mistakes!" After all, we all know about "human nature", which seems to be the disposition of people to take the easiest, least painful way out of a bad situation (or to a good situation), even if it involves behavior against others. But to be "humane" seems to go against this human nature, since there is obviously a more altruistic principle involved: compassion for others, beyond oneself. Humanism is a philosophical movement which, at its purest form, is a defense of relatively powerless people against abuses from the powerful and the institutions they control, such as business, government, and religion. Although embraced by many who profess atheism, humanism itself actually embraces and elevates one of the most important creeds in Christianity: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In other words, regardless of the trappings of our wealth, positions, or power, we are each of us ultimately human, and as such must share an ethical responsibility with each other to care for each other, for the sake of the greater good of humanity. And this brings me back to the man at the beginning of this article who only asked to be treated like a human being. Just treat me, a human, as you (just another human) would want me to treat you would have expressed his sentiment more precisely.