Santa Barbara Humanist Society Newsletter for April 2001 |
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Founded in 1995 by Keith Bailey 2000 - 2001 OFFICERS Chairman: Roger Schlueter 962-6316-rogers@west.net Secretary: Colin Gordon 682-0545-colin3@juno.com Editor: Dick Cousineau 687-2371-rcous1geol@aol.com Treasurer: Russ Boggie 564-6086-rusans@aol.com Programs: James Kimberly 969-9686-drtunes@aol.com Social Director: Anne Rojas 564-6086-rusans@aol.com Membership: Mary Wilk 967-3045-wilk@electromatic.com Archivist: Bob Michael 963-5614 Publicity: Charlotte Carver 964-2773-charm@silcom.com Top of Page MEETINGS We meet on the third Saturday of every month at 3.00 PM at Jefferson Hall, 1525 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara, California (except in June and December when we have our biannual Solstice parties). It is not necessary to be a member to attend our meetings Everyone who is receptive to Humanist ideas and ideals is welcome. The views and opinions expressed in the Bulletin are the writer's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Society. Society Board Meetings are usually held on the Monday prior to each monthly Society meeting. All members are welcome. See Upcoming Events Top of PageMEMBERSHIP NOTES We are pleased to acknowledge the addition of NINE new members to our society, namely: The monthly Board of Director's meeting will be held at Bernadene Cagle's home, 906 Chelham Way (off Sycamore Canyon Rd. near Barker Pass Rd. - tel 969-2829). All members welcome. Our next Society meeting will be on April 21st and our speaker will be Bill Young from Auberry, Calif, who will discuss Dr. John Dietrich, (d 1957) sometimes called "The Father of Modern Humanism". Bill will look at this interesting life and reflect on what this Humanist can say to us today. May's speaker will be Faye Girsh of the Hemlock Society. Top of PageTHE UP-COMING SOCIAL SCENE BY ANNE ROJAS What an eventful month we had! Two major speakers and great social events at the same functions. Our Sizzler evening drew an astounding 74 persons to hear the talk. Several new memberships resulted from that get-together. On March 25th Dan Barker and 12 Platinum members enjoyed a reception at the home of Anne and Russ, prior to the dinner meeting at Four Winds restaurant. That gathering drew 42 persons who dined on chicken or trout at tables of six persons. There was wonderful conversation, lots of laughter and camaraderie. The high numbers of attendees suggest that members like socialization along with the intellectual portion of the program. Look for more such events in forthcoming months. There are still 4 places left at the Biltmore Dinner on April 12, Thurs 6pm. Come and feast 20 of your fellow Humanists in beautiful surroundings. Treat yourself to one of the best culinary experiences in Santa Barbarra for the remarkable price of $26 which includes tax and gratuity! Even the vegetarians will have ample selections! We are working on a trip to Ventura for Comedy Night at Hornblowers Restaurant in the Ventura Marina. We will rent a van, have dinner and see the show. A fun, fun evening and you can leave the driving to us. (The comics, while good, are even better after 2 glasses of wine).. Call Anne for info. Date and times TBA soon. A special thanks to Mary Wilk who does so much more than just Memberships. May is omnipresent at every function sulfilling a myriad of duties! Muchas Gracias, Mary! This just in to the Newsletter - Paul Kurtz will be speaking in Santa Barbara (Goleta actually) on Thursday, April 19, 7pm at the Sizzler Restaurant - 5555 Hollister Ave. No reservations necessary but get there early to hear this preeminent Humanist philosopher speak on "Future Challenges for Secular Humanists". Top of PageWEB SITE OF THE MONTH by Colin Gordon Our site for this month is owned and operated by the Center for Inquiry West. A real mega-site, there is enough here to keep you out of mischief for weeks, unless you run out of mouse-power or your eyes go square. The presentation is impressive with many neat effects that would delight any web-site designer - graphics, drop-down menus and the like - but it is the size and scope of the content that is most impressive. For those with a penchant for lists there are the Humanist Manifesto 1, the Humanist Manifesto 2, Affirmations of Humanism, What is Secular Humanism, and Secular Humanism FAQ - all you ever wanted to know about SH. There are maps to their meeting place (an idea which we have unashamedly borrowed for our site www.santabarbarahumanists.org ) and other features too numerous to list. You will just have to go there. Their information about us is unfortunately out of date, but will soon be corrected. But nowhere could I find a mention of one of their leading activists, our own James Kimberly. Top of PageSteve is another of our members who hails from the U. K. He was born in England and lived in Cheshire where, as a school boy during W. W. II, he picked up still-hot fragments of bombs-"mementos of the Third Reich", as Steve called them.
Although his father was a free thinker, Steve was indoctrinated with the Anglican religion in Church of England schools where, traditionally, the first hour was spent on devotionals. However, this mandatory instruction had little effect upon him. Neither did the faith of his devout Irish Catholic mother. Steve says neither he nor his four siblings "caught" his mother's strong reverence for the Church and its saints and hierarchy. He feels that had she put less trust in the priest and more in medical science, she might not have died so young. Even as a youth, he felt religion was "abominable brain-washing" of the worst kind with far-reaching effects-and he believes that just as strongly today.
During his three years of required military service, Steve was in various parts of the Middle East ("to keep the peace") where he saw first-hand how other religions also negatively affected people's lives, causing ignorance, over-population, and poverty. This further strengthened his anti-religion stance.
After his military service ended, Steve went to New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and, eventually, to the United States. He spent five years with the U. S. Airforce, stationed in Labrador, where he worked as a refrigeration and air-conditioning engineer in a civilian capacity-which he laughs about because the temperature in Labrador was colder than the insides of the refrigerators, and there was no earthly need for air conditioning.
When he left that job in 1962, he came to Santa Barbara where he met the girl he married, took a job with Sears as a refrigerator and air conditioning technician, and raised three children. Now a widower, Steve belongs to a singles group, "Los Comaradas." He also is a member of the British Commonwealth Ex-Servicemen's League, Post 12. At one time this post had 760 members, but it now numbers only nine. (Steve was once appointed its Chaplain, probably the only atheist chaplain in history.) He also joined the Santa Barbara Humanist Society as a result of an announcement in the paper. Presently, he lives happily with his dog and five cats, but he's open to including a human (female) companion.
Steve recited this poem for me which sums up his credo: "So many gods, so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind, That just the art of being kind Is all this sad world needs." Top of Page |
"Ordinary" SB Humanists Mostly, life is a continuous stream of routine, ordinary events. Special events such as birth, marriage, and death do intrude upon and affect us but such momentous events punctuate the routine of our ordinary lives. While some may lament this, I embrace it. The minutia of everyday, mundane life really defines us as much as - if not more than - the momentous, special events.
Recently, the Humanist Society of Santa Barbara held a couple of special events that were made possible by the extraordinary efforts of "jes folks" doing ordinary things in a manner that led to extraordinary results. It is appropriate to recognize these efforts.
Many of you attended one or both of our recent "special events." The first was on March qq at the Sizzler in Goleta and featured Ed Buchner, Executive Director of the Council for Secular Humanism and Jim Underdown, Executive Director of the Center for Inquiry - West. The most valuable contribution of Ed and Jim was to put our local activities and efforts in the broader context of Secular Humanism efforts nationally and even internationally. It was, for me at least, invigorating to see how our own efforts are congruent with those taking place on a larger scale.
James Kimberly gets special kudos for the extraordinary time, energy and resources that he put into this enormously successful event. We had about 80 attendees, probably the largest ever Humanist gathering on the South Coast. Thanks, James.
The other "special event" was the replacement of our typical Sunday brunch on March 25 with a dinner event featuring Dan Barker, Publicity Director of the Freedom From Religion Foundation. We had a very nice dinner followed by a discussion by Dan of the current activities of the FFRF regarding state/church separation issues. It was encouraging to hear about other efforts to preserve the freedoms that we Humanists hold so dear.
Anne Rojas gets special kudos for coordinating this dinner, hosting a reception for Dan, and making all the details come together. It was her extraordinary efforts (which only seem ordinary because she comes through so often) that made the difference. She and Russ contributed a lot of time and energy that made that made this event so successful. And we would be remiss to forget that Charlotte Carver made sure the event was well publicized.
Finally, involved in both events was Mary Wilk, who made sure guests and members were invited, welcomed, accounted for and (most importantly!) paid up. Are we well organized? You bet! Why? Mary Wilk. Mary has been diligently working for the HSSB since its outset and is a significant contributor to our organization.
I hope these two special events are only the beginning of a long series of such activities that complement our regular Saturday meetings. They take a lot of work, involve risks, but they bring new ideas to us, expose us to the larger world of Secular Humanism, and provide us a great forum for letting the larger Santa Barbara community know that we exist.
Reflecting on these individuals reminds me of other important milestones we have reached and the efforts involved. For example, our web site is now available on the Internet at www.santabarbarahumansts.org and has been registered with hundreds of internet search engines. I have received several e-mails from people who found us via the site and have asked for more information. It is also a valuable resource for communicating within the HSSB. If you have not visited our site, please do so and come back often since it is constantly being improved and expanded. Credit for this site belongs solely with Colin Gordon, who has been working on it for months. It's a piece of work we can all be proud of. Thanks, Colin.
In the months ahead, we will be embarking on other projects that hopefully will involve even more of you in our rewarding, interesting and fun activities. Join in. Top of Page Dear Friends and Fellow Humanists; With great pleasure I am able to report that our Board and the general membership has voted unanimously that our society will support the new "Science Lab" project at Adams School (k-6).This support will include financial help in equipping the lab, possibly helping in the physical setup, and possibly helping assist teachers with some experiments (if asked to do so). I believe this would be a major step for Secular Humanism in general and our Society in particular to reach out to our local community in the "Application of science and reason in the understanding of the universe".
You will be kept informed of our relationship with the school, the teachers and this process in general as time progresses. There is also an idea to apply to the national Secular Humanist organization for grant monies to help this worthy project. Thanks to you all. Dick Cousineau - Editor Top of Page QUOTES OF THE MONTH (ALL WOMEN) Instant Gratification takes too long (C. Fisher) I have a simple philosophy; fill what's empty, empty what's full and scratch where it itches (A. Roosevelt) Women give themselves to God when the Devil wants them no more (A.Arnould) The Bible and the Church have been the biggest stumbling blocks in the way of women's emancipation. (E. Stanton) Stripped of ethical rationalizations and philosophical pretensions, a crime is anything that a group in power chooses to prohibit. (F. Adler) Honk if you like peace and quiet. (A. Mohr) I am no longer what I was. I will remain what I have become. (C. Chanel) Top of Page This person's "Greatest Hit" was "Vindication of the Rights of Women", a treatise on egalitarianism, written well ahead of her time (1780's), with articulate and persuasive arguments for women's rights. "Social functions should not be based on gender differences". This philosopher also mothered the author of "Frankenstein". AnswerTop of Page Our Society had the real privilege of hosting Dan Barker for a pre-dinner meeting at Russ and Anne's home and dinner at Josies restaurant, on March 25th. Dan spoke on his book "Losing Faith in Faith", the numerous legal challenges involving the Freedom From Religion Foundation (of which he is the president) and answering many questions from the audience of over 40 people. Top of Page What is most striking to me (as an atheistic philosophy professor) is how religiosity has increased together with adherence to philosophical skepticism. If nothing can be known for certain, it is OK to believe whatever you wish. Religiosity has increased with the view that morality is in crisis. Most people these days believe that, if there is no God, there can be no moral truths. That belief, I submit, is mistaken. For instance one has a moral obligation to fulfil one's promises, whether of not God exists. But most Americans think morality depends on religion. And so, since they are pro-morality, they also think they must be pro-religion. Finally, do 96 per cent of Americans really believe that God exists? I think not. Some people are simply lying to the pollsters. And others, although they believe that they believe, would realize that they dont really believe if they only dared look into their heart of hearts. In short, the religious revival in this country, though real, is weaker than the statistics suggest and owes a debt to bad philosophy. JEFFREY S. PURINTON Department of Philosophy University of Oklahoma Norman,Okla. Top of Page Top Ten Best Sellers in New York
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