Tag Archives: Florence

Is Humanism a Bad Word?

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A big thank you to Patty Civalleri and her wonderful book, “Florence – a Traveler’s Guide to Gems & Giants” from which I got a lot of this background information. Not only did this guide provide information on all of Florence’s sites, but also included mini-biographies of the many fabulous people who heralded from Florence and the history of the Renaissance.

This is now my third and final blog inspired by my recent 18-day vacation to Italy, Greece, Malta and Spain. The final day of the cruise portion of the trip included a day trip to explore Florence, Italy, often thought of as the birth place of the Renaissance. Many of the scientific and artistic leaders who pushed the world to come out of the “Dark Ages” heralded from Florence.

The Roman Catholic Church and superstitions before this time basically dictated how people lived their lives. Most people were confined in heavily walled cities and venturing out was frowned upon. After the Bubonic Plaque wiped out over 60% of Europe’s population, a few brave souls wandered out of their cities to explore the larger world.

Travelers discovered ancient writings that spewed “odd ideas” such as free-thinking, creativity, questioning, and the importance of human individualism. A philosopher named Petrarch coined the term “humanism” to describe this collection of concepts. And since it was dangerous to speak one’s mind against the reigning oppressive authorities, art became the expressive voice of humanism that eventually drowned out the Dark Ages.

So often art is one way of speaking out

Today’s dictionary definition of humanism is, “an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.”

So why are some people making “humanism” a bad word? What are they trying to suppress or control?

Interestingly enough, Thomas Jefferson studied and embraced Enlightenment philosophy and the ideas of the Age of Reason, which is a critical approach to religious, social, and philosophical matters that seeks to repudiate beliefs or systems not based on or justifiable by reason.  And this inspired him when he wrote the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

But now much of the Republican party over the past few decades has fully embraced the language of Jerry Falwell, who declared that ““We’re fighting against humanism; we’re fighting against liberalism…we are fighting against all the systems of Satan that are destroying our nation today….”

Wow!! Equating humanism to Satan?

Let’s not be fooled. The founders of our country and crafters of our constitution clearly understood the virtues of humanism and made it a founding principle of the USA. All the rhetoric from Christian Nationalists sharing their warped opinion about the intentions of our founding fathers is nothing but a bunch of bunk.

Galileo, Forbidden Books and Modern Politics

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A view over beautiful Florence, Italy

In my July newsletter I mentioned that after writing 2-4 blogs per month for years without a break, I had not written for well over a month.  That also included an 18-day vacation traveling through Italy, Greece, Malta and Spain.  My trip experience did now provide inspiration for a few blogs, including this first one, “Galileo, Forbidden Books and Modern Politics.”

Spending a day in Florence was inspiring, and aided by a wonderful book, “Florence – a Traveler’s Guide to Gems & Giants” by Patty Civalleri.  Not only did the book provide information on all the city’s sites, but also included mini-biographies of the many fabulous people who heralded from Florence.

One was the highly renowned scientist Galileo Galilei, most often simply referred to as Galileo.  He was one of the leading scientists believing in heliocentrism, that all our solar system planets revolved around the sun instead of the accepted belief that everything revolved around our earth. His “far-fetched” ideas brought him under the scrutiny of the Roman Catholic tribunal, that tried him and required him to confess his sins.  In addition, his books were placed on the “List of Forbidden Books.”

Ponte Vechhio, built in 1345, the most photographed bridge in the world.

That was almost 500 years ago, and now what is happening today in American politics?  The same thing!  Self-appointed keepers of morality much like the church tribunals of 500 years ago are determining what books are evil and should be kept away from schools and libraries.  Certain factions are deciding on behalf of all people that our society needs to be protected from books about our nation’s history of racism or discussing various aspects of sexuality.

Two years ago, I published a blog reviewing some of the recently banned books by school districts, “These Banned Books Are Delightful” and a follow on, “Another delightful and insightful banned book – Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe.” Several years ago, one of the best teachers in Orange County, North Carolina was run out of town since he dared to read a book about a prince marrying another prince to his class.  (Read my blog about this.)

Galileo died a sad and lonely death at his home in Florence, and the city of Florence has always regretted the bad treatment of Galileo and has made efforts to keep his memory alive.  So is history now repeating itself here in the USA?  I do hope that in the future, our nation regrets letting small minds dictate what our population may and may not read.