8.0.12 Promoting and Defending This Way

Version 1.7 December 2016                                         (Previous Version)

Many people are already on the same path: decent human beings with a reasonable grasp of science and history that flows into personal behaviour and politics.  The unique aspect of this way is to see this path as an adequate substitute for religion, to assemble it into a comprehensive package, and give it a label so we can refer to it and promote it.

We preach tolerance, and we support multicultural, pluralist, secular, liberal democracy. 

●   On the one hand, we must be wary of fundamentalist religion, ideological market liberalism, rampant commercialisation, jingoistic patriotism and populism which promote narrow minded, short sighted, inefficient or parochial solutions causing more harm than good. 

●   On the other hand, there is a risk liberal democracy will be undermined by its belief in freedom and tolerance.  We must ensure that moral relativism, postcolonial anger and guilt, and extreme multiculturalism don't lead to a spineless response to injustice, welfare abuses, and social domination by irrational minorities.

It is not enough to simply take these global beliefs and values on board and live our lives in isolation.  To the extent that we are able, we must promote a reasonable way and defend it, especially our core values:

truth, diversity, reality, life, love, beauty, responsibility equality and hope,

as well as implied, effecting and ancillary values such as:

wonder, openness, reverence, mystery, uncertainty, struggle, courage, respect, justice, mercy, authenticity, freedom, stability, security, prosperity, democracy.

Importantly we must all continue learning about life, the universe and everything, as individuals, as followers of this way, and as humanity, and all contribute to refining this Way as best we can.

We propose four kinds of action:

1.     Accept this Way, to live according to the global beliefs and values which constitute this way;

2.     Join the struggle against both a) ideological and religious certainties and b) the moral vacuum that comes with a lack of core values due to abject uncertainty or mindless materialism.

3.     Promote and defend this way, perhaps at some personal discomfort or risk, against threats to what we value, as exemplified in our ideal secular, pluralist, liberal democracy;

4.     Live this way in hope, in sacred time, connected to the natural, rational world by natural, rational rituals, open to learning and refining this Reasonable Global Way as we go along.