Humanism: People Come First by William B. Lindley Once upon a time, on a nice day while we were "spreading the gospel", somebody asked me point-blank: "What is Humanism in a nutshell?" I was speechless. How do you handle a question like that? Then my guardian angel, or the muse, or whatever, came to my rescue, and I replied: "People come first." In the back of my mind was that old Bible verse (Matt. 6:33): "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." In other words, if you're a Christian, God comes first. (Also ahead of other gods, according to the First Commandment, back in Exodus.) If you're a Humanist, people come first. It's as simple as that. But then come some nagging questions. "People come first, ahead of snail darters?" Well, yes. "Ahead of symbols and ideologies?" Of course! "Ahead of Planet Earth?" If by that you mean the Goddess Gaia, yes, people come ahead of any god or goddess. But we must remember that the Earth is our home, and trashing our home is not putting us first. It may be putting the short-term us ahead of the long-term us, and that gets to the root of what my three-word answer leaves out. If the question comes up, "Which people do we put ahead of which other people?", my answer is of no help at all. As the contents of any nutshell do not provide complete nutrition, so no catchphrase can tell the whole story. Another capsule summary of Humanism was provided by Roger Greeley: "We are alone together on Planet Earth." His seven words capture a lot more than my three. He gets atheism, community, and concern for the environment all in one sentence. That is conciseness at the master level. Published in HASD Newsletter March 1994