The Humanist
September/October 1996
Volume 56, Number 5 |
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Cover Story:
A Filmmaker's Credo:
Some Thoughts on Politics, History, and the Movies
by Oliver Stone
Perhaps alone among major Hollywood directors, Oliver
Stone has consistently tackled society's most disturbing issues while
maintaining his commercial appeal. Now the 1996 Humanist Arts Awardee
discusses the problems faced by any dissident filmmaker in an age of
political reaction and increasing corporate control.
From Domination to Partnership:
Reclaiming the Future
by Riane Eisler
The 1996 Humanist Pioneer shows how the religious
right's opposition to humanism is part of a much larger social
conflict between the "dominator" model for society and a true
"partnership" of the sexes. In fact, the "partnership" model is the
more "traditional" of the two, and by reclaiming our roots, we can
better empower ourselves to work toward a just and humanized future.
Mixed Blessing: Second Thoughts on
the Information Explosion
by Richard H. Nethe
The information revolution is here—and there's no
telling where it will end or what our "global village" will look like
when it does. But are these frenzied changes all for the best? If
not, is there anything we can do to stop or slow them—or are we
already locked into "sorcerer's apprentice mode"?
The Anxious Society:
Middle-Class Insecurity and the Crisis of the American Dream
by Charles J. Whalen
Today's widespread economic insecurity is the result
of policies which encourage corporate profits at the expense of human
well-being. Other countries have taken different routes: indeed, from
health care and welfare to education and worker retraining, there is
much that the United States could learn from the "high performance"
policies of Western Europe.
Just Say Yes
by Ernest Stableford
Downsizing takes its toll in more ways than one. Those
who retain their jobs in today's leaner, meaner corporate environment
find themselves expected to master the intricacies of a New Age
Newspeak that preaches "empowerment" but practices the opposite.
Sex, Science, and Kinsey:
A Conversation with Dr. John Bancroft
by Gary Pool
Several years back, a bitter controversy erupted over
right-wing charges that children had been sexually abused at the
Kinsey Institute. Now the Institute's director, John Bancroft, sets
the record straight—and explains why the Institute's research is so
vital to our understanding of who and what we are.
Remembering the Women of
History
by Annette Van Howe
For every 700 pages devoted to men in U.S. history
texts, a mere 14 are devoted to women. This imbalance has seriously
distorted our understanding of history and perpetuated an ideology of
male dominance. The 1996 Humanist Heroine describes what we can do to
promote change.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton:
Freethinker and Radical Revisionist
by Alice Leuchtag
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a figure of major
importance in U.S. history—not only in the struggle for women's
rights, but also for her fearless and (in her day) shocking criticism
of the Bible. The story of her revisionist Woman's Bible
constitutes a major chapter in American thought.
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