Ethical Humanist Society of the Triangle

Brothers and Sisters in Conversation
2018-11-11 08:30 - 10:30 (America/New_York) | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Doug Mabe of Brothers and Sisters in Conversation (BASIC) will speak to us about this organization which was founded to promote constructive dialog among people of diverse backgrounds. This Person County program is over three years old, so it has found sustainability in our polarized social and political climate. According to an article in the Courier-Times, “The goals and objectives of BASIC are to engage in open, honest and respectful dialogue with persons of other races and cultures in an effort to better understand their perspectives, struggles, biases, fears and desires for the future; to strive to find common ground; to understand, accept, and celebrate our differences; to discover areas in which we are more alike than different; and to cultivate an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding.”

Ethics: Science and the Scientist
2018-11-04 08:30 - 10:30 | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
The role of science in our society has changed dramatically during the past 100 years. This new role has elevated ethical issues linked to science to a new and very complex level. Obviously this has presented scientists and our society with a new set of challenges. EHST members Atish Sen and Vlodek Gabara will engage each other in a discussion/debate about this topic. Mr. Gabara notes “The two of us would never dream to undertake a comprehensive effort to elucidate these issue but we will try to engage you in a discussion based on few examples which are close to our personal experiences.”

How Are We Doing?
2018-10-28 09:30 - 11:30 | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Each fall, EHST has a meeting of members, friends, and visitors to discuss what has transpired (good, bad, and ugly) for the society, and what looms ahead for us. Our programs, budget, board activity, and needs are reviewed during the meeting. Questions are encouraged, which we will attempt to answer, to allow members and prospective members to understand our “state of the union.” We also will kick off our pledge campaign for 2019. Come get the real facts about our humanist congregation!

Jews and Arabs in Israel: From Friendly Neighbors to Iron-Fisted Rule
2018-10-21 09:30 - 11:30
Dan Tadmor was born in 1943 in British Mandate Palestine. He is a lifelong Zionist, who loves his country intensely, and served proudly in the Israel Defense Forces, believing in the ideology on which Israel was founded. He fought for the legitimate defense of Israel during the Six-Day War in June of 1967 against the Arab forces to overtake Palestine.
Dan believes in the need for a two-state solution, and that Israel should be ejected from the West Bank by force if an end to the occupation cannot be agreed upon peacefully. He is a strong proponent of BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) to force the end of the occupation, and he and his wife are supporters of MachsomWatch, a group of Israeli women who monitor and document violations of human rights perpetrated by soldiers and police at checkpoints in the West Bank.
Dan will speak to us about the country he grew up in, and how it has changed to how it defines itself today.

Poetry for Humanists and Humanity
2018-10-14 09:30 - 11:30 | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Hugh Giblin will provide his own poetry, as well as the writings of others, as we seek to enjoy poetry as an expression of our common humanity and of our own roots in humanism. Also participating in the poetry reading will be Jay Niver and Pam Baggett.
Here’s more information about our presenters:
Pam Baggett is the author of Wild Horses, chosen as a runner-up for the 2017 Cathy Smith Bowers Chapbook contest and published in 2018 by Main Street Rag. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Cold Mountain Review, Crab Orchard Review, Nimrod, Spillway, and Tar River Poetry. Pam is a recipient of an Ella Fountain Pratt Emerging Artists grant from the Durham Arts Council and two Artist Project grants from the Orange County Arts Commission. She co-hosts the Second Thursday Poetry Reading series at Flyleaf Books, and hosts readings and teaches free writing workshops at the Orange County Main Library in Hillsborough. She lives in rural Cedar Grove, NC.
Jay Niver is an award-winning, career journalist and public-relations specialist who sometimes dabbles in poetry and creative writing. He was a reporter and editor of weekly newspapers in suburban Cleveland, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; and Topsail Island and Beaufort County in North Carolina. He also worked as a copy-desk editor for the daily papers in Wilmington and Jacksonville. Jay spent 30 years in the Carolinas before moving to western Canada in 2009, and has just returned here, he claims, in order to join EHST.
Hugh Giblin is a Humanist, a sometime activist, a writer of sorts, with two produced plays, one non-fiction piece, and some published poetry to his credit — mostly “minor league stuff,” as he calls it, but he enjoys it. He is an unreformed, unrepentant biblioholic with five library cards; he would rather read than do anything else in life. He hopes to die reading a book on “The Best Way to Die.”

Democracy in Chains
2018-10-07 09:30 - 11:30 | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Nancy MacLean, Professor of History at Duke University, has written a book titled “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America,” which has received wide reviews from supportive to critical. We will play a segment of an interview with her by Dan Licata, and then share our reactions.
You may view the entire interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFrMretkUeI

Community Day: Civic Engagement
2018-09-30 09:30 - 11:30 | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Our Community Day programs are presented as an opportunity to explore a subject or issue in depth, bringing our own feelings and experiences to the fore in small group settings. We get to know each other on a more personal level before sharing our views with the larger membership. Out of these diverse opinions common aims or actions might emerge.
This week’s topic is civic engagement. We are engaged with the ethical humanist community through membership or interest, with the community we live in, with the state that governs us. How do we define our involvement? What are our responsibilities? Can we make a difference, or what effect have we had in these communities? These are some questions to start the discussion.

Following the meeting, our book club will be meeting at 3:30 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Library, Meeting Room C. The book selection is Sophie and the Rising Sun, by Augusta Trobaugh.

An Approach to Redistricting
2018-09-23 09:30 - 11:30 | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Dr. Jennifer Bremer, Statewide Coordinator for Fair Elections with the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, will give a presentation on creating fair maps through reform of our state’s redistricting process. The current maps that have been declared unconstitutional numerous times, costing our state millions of dollars. The League believes that elected officials should not choose their voters, but, rather, that the voters should choose their elected officials.
Dr. Jennifer Bremer is a policy analyst specializing in public governance reform, and directs the NC League’s Fair Elections Action Team.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization which encourages informed and active participation in government. It does not support candidates or political parties. It influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Sex and Gender: What's The Difference?
2018-09-16 09:30 - 11:30 | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Ken Haslam, a retired professor of anesthesiology from UNC Chapel Hill, will speak about sex and gender. He has taught courses on this subject at Osher Lifelong Learning at Duke University. He is also an advocate for polyamory and open relationships for couples. Science has shown us that gender, sexual identity, and sexual preferences are not simple one-to-one matters. Scientific American reviewed this topic in 2017. If you want to learn more prior to or after Professor Haslam’s talk, check it out: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-science-of-sex-and-gender/.

How Science Fiction Helps Us Understand the Problems Confronting North Carolina
2018-09-09 09:30 - 11:30 | Extraordinary Ventures, 200 S. Elliott Rd, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
Valerie Johnson, Distinguished Professor of Women’s Studies at Bennett College, will speak on “How Science Fiction Helps Us Understand the Problems Confronting North Carolina.” You may think this is a crazy idea, but Valerie Johnson has the credentials to make this work. Dr. Valerie Johnson is the only black woman on the North Carolina Historical Commission, which oversees the removal or altering of historical monuments on State property. She is a professor of women’s studies and director of Africana Women’s Studies at Bennett College. She is chair of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission.

Bennett College had its beginning in 1873 in the un-plastered basement of the Warnersville Methodist Episcopal Church (now known as St. Matthews United Methodist Church), when 70 young men and women started elementary and secondary level studies. In 1874 the Freedmen’s Aid Society took over the school, which remained under its auspices for 50 years. Here is more about the history and work of Bennett College: http://www.bennett.edu/about/

Does Inmate Labor Equate to Slavery?
2018-09-02 09:30 - 11:30
Labor Day often brings cheers to the “labor movement” for all of its accomplishments. These days there does not seem to be much to cheer about, and this issue is no exception. In fact, use of inmate labor as “slavery” and “indentured servitude” is permitted by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Or is it? Kudos to the NPR radio program, 1A, by Joshua Johnson, for raising this issue recently! We will play the first half of his show from Monday, August 27th, “Is Inmate Labor Modern-Day Slavery?” and we will then discuss the issue. You may listen to his show via this link: https://the1a.org/shows/2018-08-27/prison-strike.

Also, please remember to bring non-perishable items for our food pantry collection on September, September 2nd.

Follow-Up Surveillance
2018-08-26 09:30 - 11:30
Is Facebook as dangerous as some believe?

What about the Internet itself?

EHST friend and frequent contributor Solomon Gibson will present a brief exploration of the overall problem, whether/why privacy is important to us, and addressing the concerns and posing possible solutions for what Professor Tufekci discussed in her interview on C-Span which we viewed on August 19.

Are Social Media Companies "Surveillance Machines"?
2018-08-19 09:30 - 11:30
On Sunday, August 19, EHST’s program will feature a pre-recorded interview on C-Span with UNC Professor Zeynep Tufekci about how social media companies have stored reams of data about us, and why we should be concerned about this. Following the 30-minute video, we will share our reactions to the points she raises. You may view the interview here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?444153-1/communicators-zeynep-tufekci.

The 2018 American Ethical Union General Assembly
2018-08-12 09:30 - 11:30
Each year the American Ethical Union (AEU) convenes a general assembly composed of representatives of all member Ethical Culture-Humanist Societies for the purpose of learning more about some of today’s most pressing ethical problems, and to share insights and ideas with other societies in the U.S. Dorothy Dale, our President, and Jan Broughton, former AEU President, will present a review of what took place at this year’s general assembly in Albuquerque, NM.

Bail Bonds: What You Need To Know and To Do
2018-08-05 09:30 - 11:30
Sara Gillooly of the North Carolina branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will speak about the bail bonds system in the U.S. and why it needs reforming. According to Ms. Gillooly:
“Money shouldn’t determine anyone’s freedom. But in North Carolina, our shameful system of cash bail has created a two-tiered justice system that treats people differently not because of the crime they’ve committed but because of the color of their skin and the size of their bank account.
That’s why we are launching a statewide, multiyear effort to overhaul our broken criminal justice system. We are focusing on the unjust for-profit bail system that strips people of their rights, targets poor people and people of color, and hurts families and communities. And we need your help.”
If you want to take action to help them stop, come to our program and/or sign this petition: https://action.aclu.org/petition/nc-endcashbail

Me, The Mafia and Ethics
2018-07-29 09:30 - 11:30
Hugh Giblin, a longtime EHST supporter, will tell of his experience in a labor union controlled by the Chicago Mafia and his work as a whistle-blower with the government. He will also discuss the current legal status of whistle-blowers and ethical considerations. He believes we all can be whistle-blowers.

Memorial Service for James P. Coley, II
2018-07-22 09:30 - 11:30
EHST will host a memorial service for James P. Coley, II. James was a longtime member of the society (20+ years), had served as President, gave numerous lectures, and held many discussions with our members, friends and visitors. He was for several years host of the WCOM radio program Ethics Matters and more recently hosted Radio Free Association on that station.
James wrote many blog posts for EHST, and travelled to several Ethical Humanist Societies to give talks. In 2015 James wrote a summary of his philosophical views…
“I am a metaphysical naturalist, empiricist and scientific realist, with an epistemology that blends elements of foundationalism and coherentism. Circular chains of epistemic justification are allowed as long as they pass through a quasi-foundation of beliefs there is no good reason to doubt.
“My view on free will I call firm determinism. There are conflicting ordinary language concepts of free will; my Control Theory of Freedom offers autonomous control as a successor. There are variations of the concept, and most but not all of them are incompatible with determinism.
“In ethics, I have a prescriptivist view. There are no objective values, but that is no reason for me not to act on my Humanist value system. I believe in reason, but it is only instrumental with respect to a value system.
“I am an atheist. There is no purpose for human life ordained by the Universe, evolution or anything else. We give life significance and purpose through our values, and most importantly our actions. The way to find meaning in life is to find meaningful things to do — and then do them.”

All those who knew him will miss his wit, his incisive mind, and his dedication to logical argument and Ethical Humanism.
Donations can be made in his memory to either the CAN-DO Foundation, P.O. Box 6468, Malibu, CA 90264, or to the WCOM-FM radio station, 300-G E. Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510.

What Can You Believe If You Don't Believe in God?
2018-07-15 09:30 - 11:30
Our guest speaker on July 15 will be Michael Werner.
Many people criticize the “rise of the Nones” for its nihilism. “There is no God,” full stop, is not a useful replacement for the comfort and guidance traditional religion seeks to provide.
Michael Werner’s thoughtful new book, “What Can You Believe When You Don’t Believe in God?” confronts this criticism head-on.
Werner believes in plenty. He believes in the lifestance many call “humanism,” which he puts in compelling historical perspective. He believes in knowledge, and how humankind can attain it, without the benefit of supernatural revelation. He believes in shared human values, and in a thoughtful process for developing them. He believes in “meaning.” Not, as some traditional religionists would have it, meaning found in a happy or tortured afterlife, but meaning in the here and now: Making a difference because you have lived, and lived well.
Humanists who decline to be guided by invisible spirits must decide for themselves how to distinguish right from wrong – not always an easy task, as Werner points out. One of the most valuable facets of his approach is his guided tour through the minefield of ethical systems, and his ultimate settling on an ethical pluralism – “do what works.”
The pinnacle of Werner’s humanist belief system is civilization itself. Not just dry science – though all must start with that – but the full flowering of human emotion as expressed in art in all its exuberance.

A Dialog With UNC Professor Molly Worthen
2018-07-08 09:30 - 11:30
EHST is pleased to have UNC Professor of History, Molly Worthen, as our guest. She will speak briefly, but prefers to have dialog with us in a question-and-answer format. So, we will need to be prepared with good questions! We recommend that you read the following articles she has written:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/05/a-match-made-in-heaven/521409/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/02/opinion/sunday/sex-gender-christian-campuses.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/18/opinion/sunday/where-in-the-world-can-we-find-hope.html

Of course, if you have read her recent book, Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelism, you will be well prepared to ask her questions, too!

Community Day
2018-07-01 09:30 - 11:30
The Declaration of Independence expresses high ideals to throw off a despotic government and create a government dedicated to ensuring the safety and happiness of its people. Both before and since this declaration, people have been coming to America for many reasons: Religious freedom, escaping persecution, violence, or poverty, or for adventure, education, and other reasons, most importantly including those who were enslaved to serve the ends of the landowners whose prosperity was dependent on their labor.
Join us in small groups to share your family story – when and why did you or your ancestors come to America, what is the family lore on that journey and early adaptation, how has it shaped your feelings on America’s promise?
With the larger group, we will discuss today’s immigration situation, its benefits and problems. What can we do to improve the process?

Also, please remember that First Sunday is our IFC Food Pantry collection day. Summertime is a critical time for donations, as many organizations are not as active then but people still need to eat. Please go to http://www.ifcweb.org/needs#pantry to see the suggested list of items. You do not need to provide a variety of goods; a bag of one item is just as welcome. Thank you for your generosity.

Is Your Water Safe to Drink?
2018-06-24 09:30 - 11:30
Many of us believe our water is safe to drink. Some rural residents drink well water. Urban residents drink municipal supplied water. Yet, as residents of Flint, Michigan found out, one can not assume that municipal water is safe to drink. Please check out the recent update on the problem there as featured on CBS Sunday Morning. Lisa Sorg of NC Policy Watch will be here to bring us up to date on water quality issues in North Carolina.

Journey from Bangladesh
2018-06-17 09:30 - 11:30
Zerin Firoze will speak to us about her journey out of Bangladesh in 2016.
Zerin Firoze is an outspoken Ex-Muslim and Bengali atheist. She is an advocate for secularism in Bangladesh. She has fearlessly spoken out against extremism in spite of the threats against her life. Despite the deadly attacks against secularists in Bangladesh, Zerin has used her real name and photos on social media while continuing to fight against Islamic extremism. In 2015 alone, six prominent atheist and secular bloggers were killed by armed gangs. Since the outbreak of violence, the government has done little to protect outspoken atheists, including the 84 Bangladeshis who appeared on a “hit list” published by the group “Defenders of Islam.”
Zerin also had to struggle a lot for her education, and that is why she is a fierce advocate for women’s rights. In 2016, Zerin fled the violence and threats to her life in Bangladesh, and is currently living in the United States. She is an international student, majoring in nursing, as well as seeking asylum in the United States.

Roundtable Discussion
2018-06-10 09:30 - 11:30
Our program this week will be a discussion of recent programs and current events. The possible topics will include our recent program on gun violence, the Supreme Court decision upholding the baker’s right not to bake a cake for a same sex wedding, humanist spirituality, and immigration. The discussion will be moderated by EHST member and program chair, John Holmgren.

Gun Violence in America - What You Need To Know and To Do
2018-06-03 09:30 - 11:30
Sara K. Veety of North Carolina Moms Demand Action will speak about gun violence in America. June 1st is National Gun Violence Prevention Day. Supporters of gun reforms will wear orange June 1-3 to show their support for reasonable laws to stem the level of violence in our schools and communities. Although the CDC has been prevented by Congress from making recommendations regarding gun violence prevention, many nonprofit groups conduct research, and many groups support reasonable gun reforms, such as the American Public Health Association; check out their position on gun violence. There seems to be a myriad of organizations promoting reasonable gun laws. Here are a few:
The Giffords Foundation – founded by Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly. Here are their core issues: https://giffords.org/learn/issues/.
The Alliance for Gun Responsibility Foundation.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Gather the Spirit All Humanists!
2018-05-27 09:30 - 11:00
“Gather the Spirit” deals with the elusive word “spirit” — a word that is often bandied about but seems to mean different things to different people. In this program Eric Thomas, and Helen Wolf visit the concept of spirit from a Humanist perspective and discover that the word embodies a core concept that can be meaningful to many Humanists. Eric and Helen will also employ music in their presentation; both are musicians and composers. Check out their duo called “Constellation.”

Love Without Borders
2018-05-20 09:30 - 11:30
Allison Mahaley, a local activist for immigrant rights and for church-state separation, will give a lecture titled “Love without Borders.” It is a call for all people to step up and take action on behalf of immigrants and refugees from a humanist perspective. She will talk about the current political situation, temper it with some humor and personal stories, and then discuss why it is human, not religious, to take care of one another by being loving neighbors. She will also offer those interested an opportunity to become involved in the work of actually protecting immigrants.
We will also have a few songs from “A Different Thread,” the musical duo of Alicia Best, and Robert Jackson. Their “British-Americana” music is inspired by the songs that “crossed and crisscrossed the Atlantic Ocean,” combining traditional English folk, and country, blues, and bluegrass.

EHST Founders Day
2018-05-13 09:30 - 11:30
EHST will celebrate our annual Founders Day commemoration of our society’s founding back in 1986. We will show a brief film about the history of the New York Society for Ethical Culture which was founded by Felix Adler back in 1876.
EHST will also have a membership meeting to vote on whether to change our relationship with the American Humanist Association from an affiliate to a chapter. Only members may vote on this, but our friends and visitors are welcome to stay for the discussion and vote. Members who can not attend can vote via the designation of a proxy.

A boomer's 50-year journey from Earth Lover to Humanistic Entrepreneur to Spiritual Visionary
2018-05-06 09:30 - 11:30
“Finding her Way, Listening to her Heart, Discovering what Gift she has to Give: A boomer’s 50-year journey from Earth Lover to Humanistic Entrepreneur to Spiritual Visionary.”
Sharon Ryan grew up on a farm in Connecticut and has been an Earth Lover all her life. In 2006 she founded a local 501(c)(3) called New Millennium Awakening. During the past twelve years, the focus of New Millennium Awakening has evolved from “Mind, Body, Spirit, Right and Left Brain,” to “Mind, Body, Spirit, Heart and Soul.”
Sharon will speak to us about her work as a humanistic entrepreneur and her spiritual vision. New Millennium Awakening seeks to foster greater awareness, understanding, communication, healing and enlightenment among all the inhabitants of Earth. The name symbolizes our hope that we are entering a new era when knowledge will increase in many realms including recognizing the deep ties that bind us all such that we may come to respect one another and peacefully coexist.

One Hundred Fifty Years of American Musical History
2018-04-29 09:30 - 11:30
Singer and songwriter Patrick Kelly will be with us on April 29. His program, America’s Music, will focus on the four recognized American musical styles. Although each has elements of European and/or African musical styles, these four styles are considered uniquely American by music historians. Patrick will take us on a musical tour of more than 150 years of American musical history.
Patrick Kelly is a composer, songwriter, and singer. Since 1986, he has traveled the world, visiting all the continents except Africa and Antarctica. He also lived for fifteen years in Europe and the Middle East – four years in Ireland and eleven years in Israel. He now lives in Akron, Ohio.

Back in My Day: A Millennial Monologue
2018-04-22 09:30 - 11:30
What do you call a group of 1980s born rebels? Millennials! Yes, this convolution generation is categorized as uncommitted professionals, socially and personally unavailable, and sensitive adults who are constantly challenging the status quo. The life of the millennial is one filled with stereotypes, but how will this group turn out as they grow older and wiser? Join the Revolutionary Jé Hooper in a creative performance platform entitled, Back in My Day: A Millennial Monologue. Explore with the depth of the millennial mindset through song and dramatization as he shares his joys, sorrows, and hopes. (Some mild explicit language and/or content may be demonstrated.)
AEU Leader-in-Training, Jé Hooper, is our speaker. Mr. Hooper describes himself as a black and gay performer, preacher, producer, and he is PhD bound. He has studied at the Pratt Institute, and has focused on faith, art, and justice at the Union Theological Seminary in New York.
