Library of Congress Hangman's Illustration
“Hang him!”
“You can’t do that! It’s inhumane! It violates my rights!”
“Inhumane? Your rights? I rule here! You agitate against my rule. What’s inhumane about eliminating those who would oppose me?”
“How can you expect humankind to perfect itself if individuals can simply make up any law they desire and exterminate anyone in opposition? Of course I speak against your rule. That’s my right and duty as a citizen.”
“Citizen of what? The nations were destroyed twenty years ago; now, I rule; at least here, in this valley.”
“The Declaration of Independence is a humanist document holding true regardless of who rules. It declares a natural right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“Declaration? The Declaration labeled those rights as God given.”
“That was then. Humanity has grown beyond the need for God.”
“So, you believe in no God?”
“I am a humanist; I believe humanity itself is capable of morality and self-fulfillment without belief in God. I reject the superstition of religious dogma. Mankind will eventually perfect itself. It is every individual’s duty and right to pursue that perfection until death calls.”
“And then?”
“Nothing. Our molecules simply disperse to be recycled according to the laws of the universe.”
“So who decides what is right and what is wrong?”
“There is no ‘who.’ Each of us is individually responsible for improving the race. To humanists, ‘The quest for the good life is still the central task for mankind.’”
“I too seek the good life.”
“Hang him!”
NOTE: THE QUOTE, "The quest for the good life is still the central task for mankind." IS FROM THE HUMANIST MANIFESTO https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/manifesto1
