The birdemic certainly exploded the pretensions of humanism...

Humanism is implicitly the belief system of mainstream modernity; being derived from the 'commonsense' idea that by putting humans first, people will treat one-another better. 

Humanism grew among atheists-agnostics in opposition to Christianity, from the observation that it was a partial morality that distinguished-between people. 

Humanists particularly strongly rejected the idea of any life beyond death - which they regarded as merely a rationalization for neglecting the living, and an excuse for the Church manipulation of people in this earthly mortal life.

Meanwhile, it was obvious to humanists; that this mortal life was in fact, actually, the only life. The after-life was a lie, propagated by priests; so that by promising rewards or threatening punishment in the 'next' (but non-existent) life, they could control people in this (the only) life.   

Humanism saw itself as superior to religion because it was rooted-in science and focused on actual and real life; and because was universal and non-judgmental without regard to 'creed' and rejecting many of the traditional distinctions that were rooted in religion. 

Humanism's concern was with every person - not just Christians, or the family; and it was rationally focused on the observable well-being of people (not on invisible and unreal things like 'souls'). As such, humanism was, of course, intrinsically a part of the Leftist project. 

'Humanitarians' grew from humanism, and the concept was promoted as a term of approbation ('great humanitarian' was the sort of title given to winners of the Nobel Peace Prize and similar 'accolades') - meaning in theory someone who regarded humankind as the priority and every human as having equal priority; but in practice a humanitarian was someone whose priorities were not his family, and were other nations or creeds. 

(For instance, an English non-Christian leftist 'humanitarian' might make Palestinian Muslims his priority - the point being that the focused-upon representatives of humanity should not be Christian, should be unrelated, and elsewhere. This gratuitousness of concern being offered and taken as 'evidence' of pure altruism.)  

Some humanists were zealous in their dislike of religion generally, and Christianity specifically; and argued that religion was an obstacle in the path of human progress. Remove religion and there would be a better world...

Well, humanists got what they wanted, and religion was eliminated from the significant discourse of all the major social functions - so that not even churches let religion interfere with the secular (left) projects that were their primary concern (poverty, foreign aid, environmentalism, sexual 'equality' etc.).

In theory, this secularization would increase 'humanity' - because with religion out of the way, mankind was freed to focus properly on its own well-being. Now humans could display concern and provide help regardless of religious barriers and restrictions. 

Without religion, this would become a kinder, more compassionate, mutually helpful and humane world.   

And with religion - and its irrational superstitions and restrictions - out for the way; science and reason could come to the fore; and public policy could effectively and efficiently be focused upon its proper objectives - better actual-lives for all people...  

The humanist perspective won! Religion (i.e. Christianity) was destroyed or assimilated. And physical human beings in this mortal life were made the official focus of concern - disregarding the soul and other transcendental aspects. 

So how did this work-out in the birdemic? 

Having got rid of the irrational superstitions and distorted emphases of religion - was there then a more human and human-focused response to the stress of the birdemic (or, more accurately, the stress of the officially-endorsed response to the birdemic). 

Was it a fact that in this 'pandemic' people were more humane and humanitarian? 

Were people this time kinder, more compassionate, more mutually helpful and empathic than in the past when religion ruled? 

Was science and reason now able to act fully and comprehensively; could pure disinterested truth now become the guide to social policy? Truth freed from blind faith in the non-existent and blind terror of the imaginary?  

Or was there, perhaps, instead -- rampant selfish cowardice; cruel neglect of the old, sick and children; callous indifference to the fate of others - including family, friends and those to whom duty was owed; and irrational, labile incoherence of lying discourse, to a degree unmatched in human history? 

To ask these questions is to answer them. 

Humanism, and the theory that people would be more humane after God and the soul were deleted from belief; ranks as among the grossest of error - and has the status of an exploded fraud.

It turns-out that without God, and having eliminated the soul and life beyond death; instead of regarding other-humans as all-important - people-in-general now regard other-humans as merely things. 

It turns-out that without God; instead of allowing pure truth to become the rational determinant of policy; nothing stood in the path of the grossest, most nonsensical and blatant dishonesty to be deployed in service to temporary expediency, or to manipulate the population in accordance with the desires of power.

 

Humanists and humanitarians will no doubt continue to boast of their inclusivity and universalism. But the birdemic showed-up secular humanism for what it truly is: utterly indifferent to the human, and slavishly obedient in service to the machine of the global System of bureaucracies and mass media:

Humanists are revealed as apologists for a System that at best regards humans as 'human resources' - and always regards humans as things: things to be manipulated or eliminated as convenient to System requirements. 

And having eliminated God out from the world of power; they have cleared the way for Satan; who now controls The System; and the humanists have ensured that - by assumption - Satan can never be detected or resisted.

Worst of all; so thoroughly has humanism destroyed the capacity for coherent thought and principled reasoning; that it has become impossible for its adherents even to recognize that their own convictions and predictions are refuted and shown to be ridiculous. 

They are so very wrong, that even the possibility of knowing and repenting their error has been eliminated!  

Great work chaps!

Note: The above is an ex-insider perspective; because for several decades I regarded myself as a humanist, and revered the architects of humanism.