It was announced at the Portland Conference that the new editor of the AHA magazine is Dr. Don Page, presently the editor of The International Humanist, the Journal of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), to which the American Humanist Association belongs. He will begin with the January/February, 1993 issue of The Humanist.

Dr. Page visited Salt Lake City on February 10th of this year to interview Ed Wilson. During that visit, both Flo Wineriter and I became acquainted with him, and our friendship was renewed during the Portland Conference. Dr. Page has a more international view of humanism which I find supports my own vision of what direction the Humanists of Utah should take.

In the April, 1992 issue of The International Humanist, Dr. Page's editorial "On Practice vs. Theory" sets forth his views on what direction humanism in the United States should take if it is to be an effective movement. His appointment will mean a change in the content and direction of The Humanist magazine. Many members at the conference voiced complaints about the magazine as it has been the last few years. Portions of the editorial are very pertinent and important to the chapter membership as we find our place within the humanist community in Utah, and are as follows:

"The humanist movement has been characterized, at least in Europe, as 'pluralist', 'pragmatic' and 'practical' in an article by Rob Teilman (co-chairman of IHEU) in the December, 1991 issue (The International Humanist). Dr. Teilman points out that wherever the public image of humanism has been clear and consistent the movement has grown in public acceptance, while it has remained stagnant where its image has been blurred by an over emphasis on philosophical and semantic debates. His analysis focuses our attention away from philosophical points (on which humanists generally agree in any case, i.e., that we are ethical, secular, non-theistic and naturalistic) and highlights, instead, the question of what we contribute in practical terms to the lives of people in our communities."

Dr. Page continues: "...This discussion is about acknowledging that humanism itself goes beyond human needs which are its raison d'etre, needs which were formerly the domain of traditional religions. Thus mainstream humanism provides the existential support that people continue to need when they are no longer theistic. And it is concerned with confronting the spread of nihilism as traditional religions wither in influence, by promoting a continuing emphasis on moral values."

"The humanist movement is strongest in those countries where it has had a unified strategy aimed at becoming a mainstream component of pluralistic society. It is evident that significant numbers of people in most countries are secular and non-theistic in outlook while at the same time having no wish to interfere with the beliefs of their theistic fellow citizens. This observation supports the conclusion that as a strong humanist movement, if it is to represent these people and attract their support, will put its emphasis on serving their needs, and will choose to project a tolerant rather than iconoclastic public image while striving to work cooperatively with progressive allies to cultivate broad social acceptance of humanistic values and objectives."

The editorial further states: "...European humanists are heavily involved with the provision of non-theistic counseling services for prison inmates, for armed forces personnel, and for the sick and dying in hospitals. European humanists are also involved in the provision of moral education in schools. ...The existence of humanist conscientious objectors draws attention to the fact that humanism (in the Netherlands) is an alternative to traditional belief systems as a source of moral values. It also raises the issue of pluralism and our commitment to the right, indeed the responsibility, of individuals to behave accordingly to their deeply-held ethical beliefs. And most important to this discussion, the problems facing humanist conscientious objectors illustrates our obligation, both as individual humanists and as humanist organizations, to conduct ourselves so as to promote and not hinder a wider public acceptance of humanism as a belief system which can provide a grounding for ethics."

In conclusion, Dr. Page writes: "...(It) might be asked if a unified objective exists among humanists to develop a positive mainstream public image, with an emphasis on programs to serve the practical humanist needs of the large numbers of non-theistic people we wish to represent. It seems clear that such an objective is not shared by those who, in the name humanism, emphasize intellectual and iconoclastic activities which appeal only to narrow groups and which drive away the great majority of the potential members and progressive allies whose support we need to achieve our goals."

--Bob Green