What is the difference between being human and being humane?

This question surfaced during a discussion with 15 youths and continues to percolate for me a month later.  What is the difference?  Their conclusion was that to be human describes what we are: the full range of desires, emotions, ambitions that we collectively share.  By contrast, to be humane reflects how we choose to be: the decisions we choose to make towards ourselves and towards others relying on our ability to care for and to care with.

To be humane is a lot more work.  And perhaps we have used the excuse of being human to absolve ourselves from being humane (“I am just human after all!”). 

With the youths, we generated examples reframing the relationship between being human and being humane:

·      To be human is to get frustrated when someone is not respectful, to be humane is to show grace.

·      To be human is to feel impatient when projects don’t go as planned, to be humane is to find patience.

·      To be human is to want attention, to be humane is to show curiosity towards someone else.

·      To be human is to criticize oneself, to be humane is to offer encouragement.

Thus, I leave you with two questions next time you are feeling very human:

What is the human response?  What is the humane response?

Safe journeys, Allyson