At 3pm Saturday, June 5, 2010, Humanists for Peace will hold a landmark session on peace and humanism at the 69th Annual Conference of the American Humanist Association. The conference, among the largest gatherings of humanists, atheists, and freethinkers from across the country, runs from June 3-6 at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, California.
Official website:
http://www.americanhumanist.org/What_We_Do/Annual_Conference
Why Peace is a Humanist Issue:
Humanism and Past and Present Anti-war Activism
What do Alice Walker, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, and Corliss Lamont have in common?
Not only were they all freethinkers, they all fervently opposed U.S. militarism.
This session will feature a broad discussion on the topic of humanism and peace. The session will first talk about humanists’ historical efforts to eradicate war. This will involve discussion of past AHA resolutions on peace and war, and the peace activism of historic humanists and assorted freethinkers. Second, the session will feature discussion of humanist ethics and the problem of U.S. militarism as reflected in U.S. foreign policy and military budget. Third, the session will feature details of current humanist efforts to combat militarism and war. One of the objectives of the session will be to create a working group of humanists committed to ending militarism through education and peace activism. In short, this session aims to revive humanist’s legacy of peace.
Topics to be discussed will include:
- Past and Present Humanists in the Peace Movement
- Humanist Ethics and the Problem of U..S. Militarism
- Making Peace a Humanist Issue – How Humanists Can Make an Impact
Presenters:
- Jeff Nall, author, humanist celebrant, and founder of Humanists for Peace
- Armineh Noravian, President, Humanist Community in Silicon Valley
- David Swanson, author, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org, creator of ProsecuteBushCheney.orgVoters for Peace
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Jeff Nall is a fourth-generation humanist, humanist celebrant, and the founder of Humanists for Peace. He is a PhD candidate in Comparative Studies at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Boca Raton, Florida. He holds a Master of Liberal Studies from Rollins College and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from FAU. Nall is the author of Perpetual Revolt: Essays on Peace & Justice and The Shared Values of Secular, Spiritual, and Religious Progressives (Howling Dog Press). His writing has appeared in Z magazine, Toward Freedom, and the Humanist Network News. In Florida Nall has co-organized a variety of actions including “Protest to End the War Economy” (Orlando, 10-17-09), “Florida March for Peace” (Melbourne, FL, 3-28-09), and “Mass March to Stop War on Iran” (Melbourne, FL 8-30-08). |
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Armineh Noravian is the President of the Humanist Community in Silicon Valley. She is a past president of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Americans United for Separation of Church and state, 2005-2006, and past member of the board of directors for the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the ACLU, 2006-2008. Noravian holds Master’s degrees in both Applied Anthropology (cultural) and Engineering |
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David Swanson is co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org, creator of ProsecuteBushCheney.org and a board member of Voters for Peace. He is the author of Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union (2009, Seven Stories Press) and wrote the introduction to The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. Bush by Dennis Kucinich (2008). His writing has appeared in a variety of publications including the Humanist, Seattle Times, and Baltimore Sun. Swanson holds a Master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Virginia. He has worked as press secretary for Dennis Kucinich’s 2004 presidential campaign, media coordinator for the International Labor Communications Association, and three years as communications coordinator for ACORN. |