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The Humanist
January/February 1996
Volume 56, Number 1 |
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McKinney's Gambit: Will
Proportional Representation Bring Down the House?
by Steven Hill
Recent attacks by the Supreme Court on race-conscious
redistrict- ing and affirmative action have lent renewed urgency to
the question of how to assure ethnic minorities political represen-
tation. Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney of Georgia has offered a
possible solution.
Cover Story:
A Trip to the Movies: 100 Years of
Film As Art
by Bruce Hinrichs
In the first hundred years of its existence, the
cinema has become one of the most influential vehicles of
communication and expression in human history. But has this great
tool lived up to its potential—or have commercial considerations too
often stifled creativity of film artists?
The Humanism of Stephen
Crane
by Patrick K. Dooley
In 1895, 23-year-old Stephen Crane published his
classic anti-war novel, The Red Badge of Courage. Eight years
later, he was dead, but he left behind an astonishing output of
novels, short stories, journalism, and poems that cemented his place
among humanist authors.
Atheism and Activism: The Life and
Work of Eliza Mowry Bliven
by Carole Gray
The annals of freethought in America include some
astonishing individuals, one of whom was Eliza Mowry Bliven, founder
of one of the most influential freethought organizations of her time.
What can humanists today learn from her efforts?
Love and the Relatedness of
Things
by Frank E. Jeffers
What is the nature of love? Throughout history,
philosophers, psychologists, poets, and writers have all sought the
answer to this deceptively simple question. Their answers have
stressed the feeling of connectedness to the world outside our skins.
Hope for Humankind
by Roderick Gorney
Twelve thousand years ago, humanity took a wrong turn
in the course of its social development, and the ill effects of that
turn are still plaguing us today. To correct this, we can return to
the more pragmatically humanist values of our forebears.
Rediscovering "Darkest"
Africa
by Lloyd L. Morain
On a recent journey to Africa, the 1994 Humanist of
the Year ventured among the San of Botswana and traced the tragic
odyssey of this vanishing people.
Trees and Volcanoes Cause Smog!
(More Myths from the "Wise Use" Movement)
by Tim Callahan
According to spokespeople for the "Wise Use" movement,
smog, acid rain, and ozone-layer depletion are all relatively benign
natural phenomena which pose no threat to the planet's health. But
how reliable is their science—and what is the "Wise Use" movement
really up to, anyway?
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