The Ultimate Choice, a groundbreaking docuseries from TVO Today, with the Toronto Star and the Investigative Journalism Bureau was released on January 25, 2024. It follows the journey of Michael and his wife, Ann. Michael, housebound by pain and incurable disease, sees his choice for a medically assisted death (MAiD) as a powerful solution to his suffering. The series explores Michael’s motivations and how his decision affects his family, friends, and longtime doctor. Hosted by investigative reporter Rob Cribb, the podcast also challenges him to come to terms with his own family history as he dives into this highly charged story. Both a portrait of a family’s autonomy and a hard-hitting exposé, The Ultimate Choice reveals the political and ethical stakes behind Canada’s debate to expand MAID like never before.
What do Canada’s Humanist Organizations have to say about this contemporary human rights matter?
BC Humanists: Medical assistance in dying should be available for any Canadian who freely chooses it, even if they are not terminally ill. There is no moral argument to limit access to a physician-assisted death to individuals with “a grievous and irremediable medical condition.” Safeguards should ensure that decisions are free, voluntary, and informed but should not make access unjustly difficult. Medical assistance in dying should be guaranteed through the publicly funded healthcare system and institutions that refuse should see their funding removed. Ian Bushfield, BC Humanists’ Executive Director told us that, “it’s reasonable to say we support the expansion of MAID to persons whose sole underlying condition is a mental illness.“
Continued or increased restrictions to accessing MAID do not serve to protect the disabled but rather perpetuate a paternalistic relationship between the government and those individuals. To ensure the equal dignity of all people, we must afford everyone choice in life and choice in death.
By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms of service in whole or in part, you must not use the website, podcast or other material.
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.
We are pleased to provide you with the link to the recording of the program entitled The Anti-Slavery Efforts of Thomas Paine:
Below is the event description:
The Thomas Paine Memorial Association, Black Nonbelievers, the Secular Coalition for America, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Center for Inquiry, and the Freethought Society sponsored this special event to celebrate both the January 29th birthdate of Thomas Paine and Black History Month. This international event focused on Thomas Paine’s significant anti-slavery efforts.
Black leaders, educators, celebrities, politicians, social influencers, and others duly impressed with Thomas Paine’s foresight and warnings of civil unrest to end slavery appeared throughout this event. Guests included comedian Ty Barnett; Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY 16th District); Representative Shontel M. Brown (D-OH 11th District); poet Victor Harris; feminist/activist Dom Jones; emergency room doctor and nontheist activist Wil Jeudy; educator, author and historian Richard Newman; Professor Anthony Pinn; Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD 8th District); Representative Victoria Spartz (R-IN 5th District); and Black Nonbelievers founder and president Mandisa Thomas.
Hosts were Thomas Paine Memorial Association president Margaret Downey, and Dr. Christopher Cameron, author of “Black Freethinkers: A History of African American Secularism.”
Three musical performances were presented by Cynthia McDonald, a member of Godless Gospel and leader of Chicago’s Black Nonbelievers chapter.
Actor Ian Ruskin recited a letter that Thomas Paine wrote to Thomas Jefferson, using the persona of an enslaved person to emphasize the urgency of ending slavery. The 1808 letter, written seven months before Thomas Paine’s death, reveals a frustrated and angry abolitionist who had lost patience with those who participated in the debauchery.
Thomas Paine expert Gary Berton, president of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association, introduced the letter from “A Slave” and answered questions.
A post-event social hour included a visit with sculptor Zenos Frudakis as he connected from his studio in Glenside, Pennsylvania. His clay statue of Thomas Paine was on display during the social hour.
Citations, References And Other Reading
Featured Photo Courtesy of :
By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms of service in whole or in part, you must not use the website, podcast or other material.
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.
Blodwen Piercy diedpeacefully at Perley Health long-term care facility in Ottawa on Friday January 12,2024 at 97 years of age. She is survived by her children Peter (Miyako), Megan and Jocelyn, and granddaughter Ena. Blodwen was predeceased by her husband Joe, brother Bill and sister Meredith (Dick).
Blodwen grew up in Montreal, a top provincial swimming and diving competitor in her youth, then moved to Vancouver and studied physics at the University of British Columbia, followed by a PhD at Imperial College, London in the 1950s. Blodwen and husband Joe then worked as research physicists at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Blodwen retiring soon after to raise her children.
While raising a family, Blodwen was also a committed feminist and social activist, working for many decades in organizations such as Educating for Peace and the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League. Much of her work in these organizations is held in The Canadian Womens’ Movement Archives at Ottawa University: https://arcs-atom.uottawa.ca/index.php/blodwen-piercy-fonds. She and Joe were also active members of Humanist Canada, each serving terms as President of both Humanist Ottawa and Humanist Canada, and each were long-time Editors of the Humanist in Canada magazine (now Humanist Perspectives). They enjoyed hosting many lively Humanist gatherings in their living room in Rothwell Heights, and in 2018 Blodwen received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Humanist Ottawa.
A very informal memorial gathering is planned this summer at the cabin in the woods on Lac Poisson Blanc near Notre Dame du Laus, Quebec that Blodwen and Joe built themselves in the 1970s. All are welcome. Please contact the family at jpiercy@sympatico.ca for more details.
Blodwen was an early supporter of the Humanist Association of Canada (now Humanist Canada) and the last surviving founder of the Humanist Association of Ottawa (now Humanist Ottawa). My wife and I met Blodwen in the early 1980s. She was inspirational with her gentleness; her secular, humanistic worldview; and her tireless dedication to social issues.
Blodwen and her husband, Joe, were very deserving recipients of Humanist Canada’s Humanist of the Year Award (joining a list of other distinguished people). Blodwen was instrumental in organizing. She gave presentations at national and international conferences, with groups such as the American Humanist Association, Freedom from Religion Foundation, Center for Inquiry, and Humanists International (IHEU). You can visit her guestbook.
“Blodwen grew up in Montreal, a top provincial swimming and diving competitor in her youth, then moved to Vancouver and studied physics at the University of British Columbia, followed by a PhD at Imperial College, London, in the 1950s. Blodwen and husband Joe then worked as research physicists at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Blodwen retiring soon after to raise her children. (…) While raising a family, Blodwen was also a committed feminist and social activist, working for many decades in organizations such as Educating for Peace and the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League. Much of her work in these organizations is held in The Canadian Womens’ Movement Archives at Ottawa University. She and Joe were also active members of Humanist Canada, each serving terms as President of both Humanist Ottawa and Humanist Canada, and each were long-time editors of the Humanist in Canada magazine (now Humanist Perspectives). They enjoyed hosting many lively Humanist gatherings in their living room. (…) If you would like to donate in memory of Blodwen, we suggest you consider Ottawa Humanists.”
The last Humanist event Blodwen attended was at a summer BBQ in 2018, here in our backyard, when she was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award from Humanist Ottawa. I recall the late Dr Henry Morgentaler asking me rhetorically many years ago, “What would we do without Blodwen?”
Blodwen will be remembered for her thoughtfulness, encyclopedic knowledge, extraordinary perspicacity, perseverance, and kindness. We extend our sincere condolences to Blodwen’s family, friends, and humanist colleagues.
By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms of service in whole or in part, you must not use the website, podcast or other material.
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.
There’s a new podcast in town. It goes by the name of All Thinks Considered. If you think open and civil dialogue is a critical feature of individual and collective development, the show promises to provide insights worth considering.
Confirmation bias. Echo chambers. Filter bubbles. Fake news. Opinions disguised as facts. Polarization. Decline of open and civil dialogues between oppositions. These things are stacking up against humanity’s ability to think critically and clearly for ourselves.
How do we find real, credible information? How can we develop objective, considered opinions? How can we disagree, yet still converse amicably? How can we explore ideas, dissect and analyze them with fairness and without pissing each other off? Who’s wrong? Who’s right? Are these even the right questions?
Doctor D will be your guide in this exploration of thoughts, ideas, and ways to think critically about things worth thinking about. His guests are today’s leading thinkers across diverse fields, including iconoclasts who are really, really good pains in the ass.
By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms of service in whole or in part, you must not use the website, podcast or other material.
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.
Lloyd Hawkeye Robertson is a semi-retired psychologist with the University of Regina, Canada and President of the New Enlightenment Project: A Canadian Humanist Initiative. In this article he suggests that Wokism may have evolved into a puritanical fundamentalist religion or a mind virus. But whether it is a religion or virus, the antidote is to be found in valuing and teaching science, reason and compassion.
Author’s introductory note
Richard Bilkszto
The term “woke” when used as an adjective is often derogatory but I do not mean it as a slur. I see Wokism as a social phenomenon that combines elements of post-modernism, Marxism, Heideggerian Fascism, feminism, the 1960s civil rights movement, the 1980s self-esteem movement, Romanticism, and New Age philosophy into an evolving and often contradictory movement that gives a Gnostic feeling of superior knowing to its adherents. Cult-like, this phenomenon refuses to be named so we have to give it one so that it can be studied. My preferred name is actually “Woke Identitarianism”. In this article, I use the capitalised terms Woke and Wokism to refer to this social phenomenon.
Dawkins and the American Humanist Association
In 2021, Richard Dawkins tweeted: “In 2015, Rachel Dolezal, a White chapter president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was vilified for identifying as Black. Some men choose to identify as women, and some women choose to identify as men. You will be vilified if you deny that they literally are what they identify as. Discuss.” Dawkins, who is a humanist and evolutionary biologist, was in turn vilified on social media for posing this challenging question. The American Humanist Association went so far as to revoke the Humanist of the Year award they gave him in 1996. In a subsequent article, a co-author and I (Robertson & Tasca, 2022) predicted:
‘Dawkins will be just fine. But those who aren’t humanist legends are much more cancellable. Perceived challenges to woke orthodoxy have resulted in social isolation, career opportunities drying up, campus lectures cancelled, and firings (Applebaum, 2021). There are even professors – liberal professors – who are legitimately scared of their students (Schlosser, 2015). Still other victims of the woke attack machine, most tragically, have killed themselves (Hartocollis, 2020). It’s impossible to suspect that all this carnage is an accident. The carnage is the point; it’s meant to scare us into compliance.’ (pp. 24, 25)
A story of Richard Bilkszto
This article is about the July 13, 2023 suicide of one such non-legend. Richard Bilkszto refused to be scared into compliance when confronted by statements he knew to be false. He had been a school principal in both Canada and the United States, and he had been a lifelong activist against racism and bigotry. He had retired from education in 2019, but the Toronto District School Board asked him to return as a contract principal to assist with a faltering adult education project. He was thanked by his employer for saving the project and offered an extension, but when Kike Ojo-Thompson, a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) trainer at a mandatory staff training session, asserted that Canada was a much more racist country than the United States, Bilkszto politely stated that the record of Canada’s public schools, progressive tax system and health care system suggested otherwise.
If the DEI instructor was a humanist we would expect that she would have either acknowledged Bilkszto’s data or countered it with data of her own. Instead, Kike Ojo-Thompson’s initial reaction to Bilkszto was to say that “We are here to talk about anti-Black racism, but you in your whiteness think that you can tell me what’s really going on for Black people.” (National Post, para. 8) The Post said that in this she “insinuated” that Bilkszto was a white supremacist. She told those in attendance, “Your job in this work, as white people, is to believe” (Subramanya & Blaff, 2023, para. 35). Bilkszto was silenced due to his race. The executive superintendent of education for his school board thanked Ojo-Thomson for modelling the way to combat anti-black racism. In the next of the series of four DEI sessions Ojo-Thompson told Bilkszto and 200 of his colleagues, “One of the ways that white supremacy is upheld, protected, reproduced, upkept, defended is through resistance… I’m so lucky that we got perfect evidence, a wonderful example of resistance that you all got to bear witness to, so we’re going to talk about it, because, I mean, it doesn’t get better than this.” (Subramanya & Blaff, 2023, para. 42). During this session other attendees were encouraged to criticize Bilkszto’s “whiteness”. No one dared defend him.The day after this session Bilkszto filed for sick leave.
Bilkszto filed a complaint with school officials. In August 2021, the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board awarded him seven weeks of lost pay for workplace harassment. But this did not end the matter. When informed that he would not receive any more contracts he began a lawsuit for damages. The lawsuit cited Ojo-Thompson’s “defamatory statements” and the unwillingness of The Toronto District School Board to stand up for him. It said Bilkszto had suffered “embarrassment, scandal, ridicule, contempt, and severe emotional distress”. In response to the law suit the school board made a statement of claim against the DEI training company, the KOJO Institute, for “breach of contract” in creating the conditions that led to Bilkszto’s distress (Sarkonak, 2023). Despite the strength of his legal case, Bilkszto continued to experience social media harassment and distress. His friend, Michael Teper, explained: “It was not only his job that was taken away from him, but his reputation, because those very people were assassinating his character. They claimed he was a white supremacist, that he was a racist. They knew nothing about him. They knew nothing about what he stood for or what he believed.” (Subramanya & Blaff, 2023, para 15)
We do not know how the social media campaign targeting Bilkszto was organised, but the New Enlightenment Project uncovered the Woke instructions to their followers when organising a counter-demonstration in Ottawa, Canada, earlier this year. Nowhere in the instructions was there any mention of the arguments of their opposition. Woke followers were only told they were demonstrating against “fascists” and “Nazis” when, in fact, they were demonstrating against people who did not want biological males in girl’s washrooms in school. Further, the Woke were instructed not to engage in conversations with other people but were given a list of slogans they should shout. If a reporter or another individual were to attempt to engage them in conversation they were to shout the slogans louder. Our observers at the event report that these counter-demonstrators followed the script they were given.
Like the Puritans during the “Great Awakenings” of the 18th and 19th centuries, the only thing these modern Woke need to know about victims of their mobbings is that they are sinners. The Great Awokening of the 21st century has changed the meaning of the word “racism” to “sin”. As we have seen, Dawkins and Bilkszto were not guilty of racism by any meaningful definition of the word, but they were guilty of challenging the words of those the Woke believe to be holy. In ordinary language, they sinned against the religion.
Steven Pinker and the formation of a quasi-religion
At the beginning of this century, Steven Pinker (2003) noted that a proto- or quasi-religion had formed that accepts on faith three myths: the blank slate, the ghost in the machine and the noble savage. The blank slate myth holds that we are totally the product of culture and can be moulded through the use of words, as is found in the practice of political correctness. The ghost in the machine myth holds that we are born with some essence that defines us – gender or race – as the Woke, so divine. The noble savage myth romanticises aboriginal people, but ultimately leads to the belief that modern civilization is evil and should be destroyed so that mankind can return to a “state of nature” as found in tribal societies. Since Pinker (2018) demonstrated that we live longer, are better educated, and experience less sexism, slavery, malnutrition, child mortality and xenophobia than at any other time in human history, he has run afoul of Woke dogma. They did not challenge his data but accused him of being a Nazi and a sympathizer of paedophilia. He was also accused of being a racist because he cited black authors in his work, thus appropriating their thoughts. Like Dawkins, Pinker may be “uncancellable” but as the example of Bilkszto demonstrates, the effect on ordinary people can be devastating.
In 2022, I engaged in a lengthy exchange with a Woke sympathizer on a humanist social media discussion group. She repeated the common trope that to be Woke is to simply be “awake” to racism. She saw herself as a “good Woke” who was against cancelling speakers, arranging to have people fired for expressing unwoke ideas, mobbing people on social media, or enforcing political correctness. I asked her why these good Woke failed to defend Steven Pinker when a petition was raised to have him cancelled as a distinguished fellow of the Linguistic Society of America. She replied that the good Woke were probably afraid of being called “right wing” by the not so good Woke. I believe this attitude is what ultimately killed Richard Bilkszto.
If Bilkszto really was a white supremacist, calling him one would not affect his social standing. His friends would still talk to him. Further, the slings thrown at this hypothetical white supremacist would merely be part of a larger war in which he participates. But Bilkszto found himself alone. His employer and colleagues deserted him. His solid legal case was not sufficient to protect his psyche.
Applebaum (2021) explained, “the first thing that happens once you have been accused of breaking a social code, when you find yourself at the center of a social-media storm because of something you said or purportedly said. The phone stops ringing. People stop talking to you. You become toxic.” She said most of the victims of the Woke, whom she calls “The New Puritans,” were liberals.
Humanists, liberals and socialists are most vulnerable to the slurs the Woke use exactly because we have traditionally opposed racism, fascism, sexism and all forms of bigotry. As a result, when people are accused of these things we tend to cast a wary eye in their direction. When we ourselves are accused we tend to assume we have been misinterpreted and we may apologize for our choice of words. The Woke view all apologies as an admission of guilt, with the result that they press with even more vigour. Humanists tend to give sympathy to people who proclaim themselves to be anti-racist, and this can lead to impotence when observing a vicious attack like the one launched against Richard Bilkszto. We need to uphold the humanist valuing of science, reason and compassion. Facts are not racist, but interpretations that ignore facts often are. The silencing of Bilkszto because of his race was itself a racist act. Humanist compassion dictates that we spring to the defence of the Richard Bilksztos of the world.
It may be that Wokism has evolved into a puritanical fundamentalist religion since Pinker made his initial observations two decades ago. I have offered an alternative explanation. Using Dawkins’ (1976, 1982) concept of the meme and taking the self as a mental analogue to the body, I have shown how evolved cultural units can act as mind viruses (Robertson, 2017) and how Woke identitarianism fits such a definition (Robertson, 2021). But whether it is a religion or a virus, the antidote is to be found in valuing and teaching science, reason and compassion. Richard Bilkszto needed the support of those who share this understanding.
References
Applebaum, A. (2021, Aug. 31). The New Puritans. The Atlantic.
Dawkins, R. (1976). The Selfish Gene. Oxford University Press.
Dawkins, R. (1982). The Extended Phenotype: The gene as the unit of selection. W.H. Freeman.
Pinker, S. (2003). A biological understanding of human nature. In J. Brockman (Ed.), The New Humanists: Science at the edge (pp. 33-51). Barnes & Noble.
Pinker, S. (2018). Enlightenment Now: The case for reason, science, humanism, and progress. Penguin.
Robertson, L. H. (2017). The infected self: Revisiting the metaphor of the mind virus. Theory & Psychology, 27(3), 354-368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354317696601
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.
By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms of service in whole or in part, you must not use the website, podcast or other material.
We are proud to announce the (somewhat later-than-expected) launch of the Humanist Freedoms Podcast by Humanist Heritage Canada!
Episode One of the podcast features the first in a series of readings from Henry Beissel’s collection of essays titled, Catastrophic Glory.
We hope you enjoy the podcast episode and look forward to your feedback regarding each episode as well as your ideas for future episodes.
Citations, References And Other Reading
Featured Photo Courtesy of :Henry Beissel
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.
By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms of service in whole or in part, you must not use the website, podcast or other material.
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.
By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms of service in whole or in part, you must not use the website, podcast or other material.
Outrage Canada is a national, non-religious coalition of outraged Canadians that hold the Roman Catholic church of Canada accountable for ongoing crimes and advocates for all victims of Catholic clergy. This new organization is committed to ensuring justice for victims, the safety of all children and the prevention of abuse by the Roman Catholic Church and its clergy.
Earlier this year, the group launched a petition on Change.org calling for the Government of Canada to investigate and act on their concerns. The petition states:
We, the undersigned, Citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to immediately begin a complete investigation of the archives of all 61 Roman Catholic dioceses in Canada to:
a. Assure the Canadian public that children and adults are safe;
b. Ensure that justice will be sought for all victims and their families;
c. Ensure that the Roman Catholic Church in Canada will be fully accountable for its actions and is no longer protecting predatory clergy; and
d. Alert the police about all historic cases so that they can determine if there are any other victims.
The website also has valuable information and tools for those who care about these issues to get active. Perhaps this is an organization that deserves your time and attention.
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.
By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms of service in whole or in part, you must not use the website, podcast or other material.
Maltese society and culture are deeply intertwined with Catholicism and religion as a whole. The teachings of Christianity and the Catholic Church are prevalent from a young age and the subject of religion is taught in many primary and secondary schools, often also revolving around Christianity for the majority of the syllabus. Many children and teenagers are also encouraged to be part of organisations devoted to Christian teaching.
However in recent times there has been a growing trend of more people identifying as either being atheist or having no religious affiliation. When reviewing shifts in society’s treatment of religion, one must wonder if perhaps the point of contention lies with the idea of “organised religion” rather than religious belief itself.
The Malta Independent on Sunday reached out to Alison Vella, a member of Humanists Malta, and spoke about their campaigns and what could be the reasons behind this shift in society.
Vella said: “I think that with the internet and with people having access to more knowledge, people are raising more questions, and knowledge tends to spread quite a bit.” She added that with access to knowledge and data, people are likely to question more as opposed to the past where there was a lack of availability of information. “You were told this, don’t question it, and just go on about your day.”
She said that religion’s origins came about in early civilisations, where scientific discoveries were still to be made. She used weather as an example, referring to things such as thunderstorms, where early civilisations linked such phenomena to gods. She attributes the increasing prevalence of atheism and humanism to more accessible science-based knowledge and discussion.
Vella was asked why humanism is so often linked to atheism despite being distinct from one another. She said that although they are similar, humanism is not exactly a form of atheism. She explained that humanism focuses on science so those who are humanists tend to also be atheists. “The idea is to work towards a more compassionate goal for humanity, there’s a lot of philosophy involved and it touches a lot with existentialism.” She emphasised Humanists Malta’s belief in bodily autonomy and that one should not harm others.
In regards to humanism’s relation to religion, she said: “We don’t mind if anyone is religious. We understand that it is culture and we understand it’s coming from a very long line of how humans have come together and society has been built.” Vella added that Humanists Malta does not condone discrimination towards any religion or those who are not religious.
An argument one may commonly find thrown around during any debate regarding religion and atheism is the claim that one cannot have good moral values without a religious guideline. Vella was asked what her thoughts about this are, to which she said that it is something that often comes up in discussions from her experience.
She added that in her opinion if someone is an atheist and a good person it is more definitive that they are truly good because they have no incentive behind their behaviour. “I do find that there are a lot of religious people who just behave in a particular way out of fear and feeling that they have to because they were always indoctrinated in that way and don’t really question it.” Vella said that this does not mean being an atheist automatically makes you a good person, as there are those who are good and those who are bad, “but the ones who are good are that way because they are genuinely good people … I don’t believe that you need to be religious to be a good person”.
Humanists Malta currently forms part of the coalition for pro-choice, but takes on the role of a supporting organisation as opposed to the “drivers”, she explained. They form part of this organisation due to their belief in bodily autonomy. Vella said that a campaign they are very interested in pushing themselves is that of Assisted Dying, commonly referred to as euthanasia. “It’s not nice, we’re not dealing with easy topics, we’re dealing with heartbreaking scenarios, but we believe that if someone would like to take their own life in the most humane way possible because they are suffering then it is entirely up to them and there should be no other person or government that can decide for you.”
Staying on the topic of bodily autonomy, we moved on to talk about the pro-choice movement in the Maltese islands. Malta has already ratified laws that go against certain doctrines, said laws being divorce and gay marriage, and the current primary point of contention is that of abortion becoming legal. Among members of the European Union, Malta has some of the most restrictions when it comes to abortion. Vella said that in this regard she has seen some improvements but thinks that there needs to be more done.
She remarked that whenever she speaks to foreigners who have not visited Malta they are always shocked to hear that abortion is illegal. “They’re always very surprised and they don’t understand it.” Vella said that from her experience, she finds a lot of pushback from most Maltese people when it comes to abortion, though she has met others who are “very pro-choice”. She explained that there are often mixed and very strong emotions from both ends.
“The ones who are staunchly against it, for them it’s a sin and it’s not on. They will actually judge you if you have a different opinion. Then there’s the other side who are pro-choice and are angry at the fact that we are living in an allegedly progressive country, but it’s really not to some degree. Some things are progressive and some aren’t.” She said that the government needs to take a stance and be fair with the choices and options provided to the population, “because at this point it’s not fair and it’s very much what they want and how they want the country to perceive them for votes”.
The Malta Independent on Sunday brought up a recent situation regarding Malta’s national anthem, in which there was some discussion about adopting a new national anthem, namely Tema 79. In this instance we focused on the religious aspect of the national anthem and how it is essentially a prayer to God, and posed the question as to whether or not this is fitting for Malta as a secular country.
Vella said that when it comes to culture and secularism, one needs to look at what is actually important. “I personally like that there’s still quite a cultural influence in Malta. What I don’t like is if the Catholic side of things influences regulations and legislations.” She said that at the end of the day Malta is predominantly a Catholic country and finds no issue with the national anthem as it is. “What I don’t want is that the state imposes legislation that goes against choice … in essence it is not up to the government’s choice. It is our body and it is what we want to do.”
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on Humanist Freedoms are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.
By continuing to access, link to, or use this website and/or podcast, you accept the HumanistFreedoms.com and HumanistHeritageCanada.ca Terms of Service in full. If you disagree with the terms o
Save the Date! This October, experience an unforgettable night of literary brilliance brought to you by the Centre for Inquiry Canada (Ottawa Branch) and Humanist Ottawa.
📅 Tuesday, October 10, 2023
⏰ 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM
📍 Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1R 6H5
Don’t miss this extraordinary chance to witness live readings from Henry Beissel, the award-winning poet and Distinguished Emeritus Professor at Concordia University. Henry’s contributions to the world of academia and literature are unparalleled, making this an evening you won’t want to miss!
Featured Works: Dive into the poetic world of Henry Beissel with select readings from his captivating collections:
– When Africa Calls Uhuru
– Fugitive Horizons
– Sightlines
– Footprints of Dark Energy (Ottawa Book Awards Winner, 2020)
– Engage in an enriching Q&A session with the poetic genius himself!
– Celebrate the indomitable spirit of academic freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press that Henry so ardently advocates.
About Henry Beissel:
A pillar of Canada’s literary scene for over five decades, Henry founded the thriving Creative Writing program at Concordia University and is the author of over 30 books, ranging from poetry to plays and translations. His play “Inuk and the Sun” gained international acclaim and has been translated into numerous languages. A stalwart defender of freedoms, Henry led the Freedom of Expression Committee of the Book and Periodical Council of Canada in the 1980s and has been a driving force behind various influential organizations.
Seats are filling up fast, so mark your calendars and prepare for a night of inspiration and wonder. We look forward to sharing this unique experience with you!
Citations, References And Other Reading
Featured Photo Courtesy of :Henry Beissel
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