Given the possibility that three humanists talking about their political philosophies might not offer many disagreements, I thought I would begin by quoting some of the political positions of a person with a non-humanist world view to illustrate how one's philosophy does indeed shape one's positions on political questions. In the April 1995 issue of Sunstone magazine it was reported that Apostle James E. Faust of the Mormon Church, in a November 1994 BYU devotional, said: "Today many of us are trying to serve two masters: the Lord and our own selfish interests. ...The influence of God...urges us, pleads with us, and inspires us to follow him. In contrast the power of Satan urges us to disbelieve and disregard God's commandments." Clearly, Elder Faust's philosophy is God-centered, leading, he believes, to these positions on political questions:

On abortion: "Abortion is one evil practice that has become socially accepted in our country," and "many of today' s politicians claim not to favor abortion, but oppose government intervention in a woman's right to choose an abortion."Apparently he would have the government limit a woman's right to choose an abortion.

On population control: "How cleverly Satan masked his evil designs with" the phrase "sustainable growth," which refers to slowing the population growth rate to protect the world' s resources and the environment. "Those who argue for sustainable growth lack vision and faith." The scriptures, according to Faust, say, "the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare" (citing the Doctrine and Covenants). "That settles the issue for me. It should settle the issue for all of us. The Lord has spoken." On homosexuality: "There is some widely accepted theory extant that homosexuality is inherited. How can this be? No scientific evidence demonstrates absolutely that this is so. Besides, if it were so, it would frustrate the whole plan of mortal happiness. ...The false belief of inborn sexual orientation denies to repentant souls the opportunity to change, and will ultimately lead to discouragement, disappointment, and despair. [Any alternative to] a legal and loving marriage between a man and a woman helps to unravel the fabric of human society" and is "pleasing to the devil." Now I have no doubt that James Faust is a decent, intelligent, educated, sincere, and honest man, but other decent, intelligent, educated, sincere, and honest people differ with him, and a question I have long pondered is why. I have come to only a partial answer: Their basic assumptions differ, and this shapes their entire outlook. But this is only a partial answer, because what I don't understand is why their basic assumptions differ. Why does one person see God in everything and another person fail to see God in anything? But that's a discussion for another time. For this evening, we take as a given the humanist philosophy in order to trace its political implications.

Humanism has, for me, made sense of this world and shaped my attitudes and actions in innumerable ways. I will list a baker's dozen political opinions that I have. My political attitudes may not be very different from those of most of you in this room, but whether this is true is something we'll find out soon enough, and is essentially the purpose of this panel discussion.

First, if we are to preserve our "participatory democracy," we must be educated. Education is a theme I come back to time and again when I think about solutions to society's problems--whether crime, the environment, population, teenage pregnancies, drugs, etc. and is perhaps my highest political priority. I look at education as an investment and not as a cost, and favor more rather than fewer of our tax dollars going; to education because I think the return on investment is so high. My hope is that over time we will invest less of society's resources at the back end in welfare, police, jails, and courts, and more at the front end in educational improvements, some as simple as smaller classes and up-to-date textbooks. There are emphases in education that I would favor as a humanist over what religionists might favor. We may agree on reading, writing, and arithmetic, but I would also stress more science, reasoning, sex education, and values clarification, or ethics.

Second, I love what our founding fathers did. I love the checks and balances of our three branches of government. They all work, although I believe the judicial branch works the best, in part because judges use a reasoned approach based on the evidence, much like humanism. I love the Bill of Rights with its guaranteed freedoms of speech, press, and religion. Except on some moral issues, I think of laws and other expressions of public policy not as right or wrong, but as better or worse. We must continually seek better public policy as we understand more about ourselves and our world. These are judgments that WE must make as a self-governing people, which is one reason why education is so important, and this panel discussion so timely.

Third, I don't like referenda. Even though we the people govern ourselves, I prefer that representative government, through legislatures, hammer out our laws, as messy and imperfect as this is. We need this give and take in drafting laws.

Fourth, I also oppose term limits. As attractive as term limits sometimes seem for getting rid of bad legislators, I don't like mechanical solutions, and here I would put my faith in "we the people," and in the educational system to create a sufficiently informed electorate to act wisely.

Fifth, I support campaign finance reform, including limiting out-of-state funds in state elections, although I do not see reform as a panacea, and it's a mechanical solution. Possibly even better would be more disclosure and reliance on the free press and voters to correct any excesses.

Sixth, I embrace the free enterprise system. I believe the free enterprise system works in maximizing wealth and individual freedom and opportunity. The system must be regulated, however, to control its excesses, achieve social justice, and protect the environment, and this is a legitimate role for government. Also, we cannot expect the free enterprise system to address some of the fundamental problems in society, and I support the government's funding of medical and other research in an effort to cure and prevent the scourges of humankind, develop new sources of energy, protect the environment, and so forth. I also support government programs for the poor, although I would hope that education would reduce the need. I mention government programs for the poor because a libertarian recently told me he doesn't like the government taking from him and giving to someone else, but I disagree with him so long as we the people are the government and therefore take from ourselves for the poor.

Seventh, with respect to what to do with those who break the criminal law, I see no alternative to incarcerating persons who pose a threat to society, but given our respect for the human dignity of everyone, I would like to see our emphasis on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Even so, as for capital punishment, I suppose I want to preserve the option for cases like the white men in Texas who recently dragged a black man to his death in back of a truck, but I suppose this is more an emotional than an intellectual position. I do believe that capital punishment should be used sparingly.

Eighth, we must get our population under control, not just worldwide but in this very valley. I believe we should revisit tax exemptions for children, especially for children beyond the first two, since two children will, eventually, replace the population without increasing it. Indeed, instead of just removing the tax benefit associated with more than two children, there might have to be a cost for more than two children, such as a tax for their schooling, which implies, of course, a huge cultural change, not only in Utah but throughout the nation.

Ninth, as a humanist, I look at everyone as a fellow human being and decry the prejudices, too often derived from dogmatic religion, against Jews, blacks, women, homosexuals, and others, including humanists. I support equal rights for all but a continuation of affirmative action for the time being.

Tenth, on abortion, I favor the woman's decision over the government's, but I would also hope that improved education, including sex education, would reduce the incidence of unwanted pregnancies.

Eleventh, on the right to die and assisted suicide, I want the option for myself and therefore believe that everyone should have it. I believe we can solve the problem that older people might be forced into this choice.

Twelfth, on biotechnology, I believe we must approach cloning and genetic engineering slowly, especially as they're practiced on humans. They hold so much promise for human welfare that I would not want the credibility, responsibility, and benefits of science to be undermined by actions that might appear as rash to, or offend the sensibilities of, a great many citizens, which could set back funding for research for years.

Thirteenth and finally, I'm against a flag burning amendment. Flag burning is "speech" and has been rightly so defined by the Supreme Court, and I would not support this tampering with the First Amendment.

These are some of my political opinions as a humanist, and I look forward to the discussion.

--Earl Wunderli