ChiCago EthiCal humanist Newsletter of the Ethical humanist sociEty of chicago

sEptEmbEr 2016

Welcome to Our New Season of Sunday Morning ProgramsERIC ZORN, noted Chicago Tribune columnist, returns to open our new season on Sunday, September 11th. His topic will be “OK, Now What? Where Are the City, State, and Country Headed?” Zorn will discuss recent developments in local, state, and national politics. He will describe the fixes we’re in and speculate on

what the coming months are likely to hold.

MARK LARSON, a professor of educa-tion at National Louis University and curator and interviewer for American-StoriesContinuum.com, speaks Sunday, September 18th, on “Ensemble: Stories from the Chicago Theater Communi-

ty.” Larson will discuss his oral history book to be published by Agate Publishing, spring 2018, exploring the emergence, expansion, and culture of Chicago’s vibrant theater scene, including brief audio excerpts from some of his interviews.

GEOFFREY STONE, professor of law at the University of Chicago and a First Amendment scholar, returns to speak Sunday, Septem-ber 25th, on “Free Speech on Campus? Academic Freedom Vs. Safe Spaces.” Stone will discuss whether attempts to curtail intel-lectual collisions at college are constructive or counterproductive. He will suggest ways in which free expression and inquiry can be revived and protected.

• Our Second Saturday Coffeehouse resumes September 10th, at 8 p.m. We’re featuring the popular “Ain’t Dead Yet” band, playing lively Americana and Alt Rock music. Led by Charlie Heinrich with vocals and on guitar, he’ll be joined by Jorge Doguim on guitar and mandolin, Bill Austin on violin, Mike Brown on harmonica, Jim Hohenzy on bass, and John Kowalski on guitar. Preceding the program will be an open mic (7:30 signup, all genres, all acoustic). The $8 at the door includes refreshments. Enjoy a relaxing evening!• Our regular Fiction Circle, led by Ken Novak, meets on Sunday, September 11th, at 12:15 p.m., right after Eric Zorn’s season-opening platform. We’ll have a lively discus-sion of Tessa Hadley’s brilliant short story Dido’s Lament, about a chance encounter between two people who were once married. It was in the Aug. 15–22 New Yorker, and can be read or listened to at http://bit.ly/2c9nq4I.• Our Film Discussion group, led by John Ungashick, meets Monday, September 12th, at 7:15 p.m. We’ve again chosen two current films. Indignation, based on a Philip Roth novel, is the coming-of-age story of a Jewish city boy in the 1950s whose intellectual independence is challenged at a small college. It was directed by James Schamus, with Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon. Florence Foster Jenkins is the bizarre and zany biopic of a woman and her amateur-

ish singing career. It was directed by Stephen Frears and stars Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant. Last month’s films were Woody Allen’s Café Society and The Infiltrator. • Our Creative Writers group, led by Sue Sherman, meets on Sunday, September 18th, 12:15 p.m. In this first meet-ing after the August 28th Showcase program, we’ll again share our short, original works. Newcomers are welcome.

Recent Sunday Programs• Sue Walton and Mitch Pravatiner led an interactive pro-gram, “All in a Long Day’s Work: the Experiences of Elec-tion Judges,” on July 10th. Alan Kimmel was moderator.

Mitch and Sue spoke about their many years as election judges, Mitch in Chicago’s Hyde Park and Lakeview neigh-borhoods, Sue in Evanston. Noting that he has encountered no irregularities but an occasional slow opening set-up, he said an election judge’s work “is tedious but somehow

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Other Society Events

The meetinghouse of the Society is at 7574 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie. Sunday programs start at 10:30 a.m. A social hour fol-lows. For parking, use our lot, spaces at the adjoining store, How-ard St. or Jerome St., or the lot at the Albany Bank. If you need transportation, call the office by 1 p.m., Friday—we’ll try to get a ride for you.

finally gets done.” With two election judges being required from each party, Sue told of having to be a Republican judge in precincts with few Republicans. She said many judges are college students, who are helpful with the new touch-screen voting but have a high turnover.

We went on to exchange experiences as and views on election judges, poll-watchers, and voters. We criticized re-cent laws in some states that suppress turnout and “infringe on the right to vote.” We concluded by reaffirming the es-sential role of local judges in conducting fair elections.

• John Ungashick, a Society member and history buff, spoke July 17th on “Iraq: A Country or a Fantasy?” Svetlana Bekman was moderator.

John began with a historical account of the successive civilizations in the Tigris–Euphrates valley, part of the an-cient “Fertile Crescent” that extended to the Nile valley in Egypt and enjoyed a “Golden Age” during Europe’s “Dark Ages.” The eventual creation of modern Iraq by the Brit-ish and French after they ousted the Ottoman Turks during World War I was “a key factor in the present instability,” he pointed out.

John discussed the rise of Saddam Hussein in 1979 and the “laughable assertions” about weapons of mass destruc-tion by President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and the “neocons” to justify the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2001. He noted the split between Kurds and the Shia and Sunni Mus-lims and the rise of terrorist groups. Regretting that Islam has never experienced a Reformation and “a separation of mosque and state,” he said “there is no easy answer” to Iraq’s future.

• Ben Garcia, a Society member and a Judge Advocate General in the U.S. Navy, spoke July 19th on “Litigating Sexual Assault.” Shari Pollock was moderator.

Ben recounted his legal experience in dealing with charg-es of sexual assault, which he said is complicated by each state having its own definition. Essentially, he said, his job is “distinguishing between good and evil.” Most assaults, he noted, are by someone known to the victim and do not involve force or the use of a weapon or drug. Many assault charges are false, most assaults are not even reported to the police, and few of those charged are found guilty, he said.

Ben discussed the obstacles in prosecuting sex crimes. Among them, he noted, are little evidence, few or no wit-nesses, prolonged investigations, determining if the sex was consensual, whether reports of similar behavior by the accused are allowed in court, and poor communication between victims and law enforcement. Victims are often blamed and viewed unsympathetically by juries, he added. We need to “empower the victim” and “take everybody se-riously,” but we “should not believe everything they say,” he concluded.

• Ken Novak & Sue Sherman, Adult Education chairs, led an Ethical Humanities program July 26th on “Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms Today.” Chris Martin was moderator.

Ken began the program with a brief film clip of FDR’s January 1941 state of the union address to Congress. He recounted the context in which, just months before the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR had eloquently set forth the lofty goals of freedom of speech and religion and freedom from want and fear—“everywhere in the world.”

We reviewed the status of freedom in the world today. On freedom of speech, we criticized the highly limited owner-ship of radio and TV, restricted access to the internet, ar-rests of journalists, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that money is speech. On freedom of religion we condemned the denial of “freedom from religion” for the growing number of “nones.” On freedom from want we discussed our material needs and noted that many nations have been lifted out of poverty. On freedom from fear we pointed to continuing wars and terrorist attacks. We were then asked, “What freedoms would you add?”

• Dennis Harpole, a technical service metallurgical engi-neer, spoke August 7th on “30+ Years of Change in the Steel Industry.” Tim Morrison was moderator.

Dennis noted that steel is made mainly from iron ore and scrap metal, with small amounts of other metals added for strength. He discussed the changing methods of steelmak-ing, from blast furnaces to electric furnaces, to continuous casting, mini-mills, and integrated mills. He described vari-ous steel products, such as flat sheets, rods, and rebar, and pointed to the auto industry as the leading market for steel.

Dennis told of his many years of working at steel mills in the U.S. and Canada, noting the many mergers and acquisi-tions. He described the rapidly changing technology and the competitive worldwide race for efficiency. He pointed to problems of waste disposal, high energy costs, and re-duced pensions and benefits for workers. In a final salute to the industry, he said “If you want strength, use steel.”

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Who We Are

The Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago is a self-governing, inclusive, caring community—providing a home to those who seek a rational, compassionate philosophy of life without regard to belief or non-belief in a supreme being.We focus on the ethical values that bring people together, not

on the beliefs that keep people apart. In the spirit of intellectual, philosophical, and artistic freedom, we come together to explore life, nature, and the universe.Like traditional religious communities, we celebrate births,

conduct wedding ceremonies, and host memorial services. We provide for the ethical education of our children, based on ratio-nal, critical thinking. We believe in working together for a better world, and strive to act so as to bring out the best in others and thereby in ourselves.

Notices and Announcements• Ethical Drinking: a Night of Music and Brews is com-ing Monday, September 19th, starting at 5:30 p.m. A fund-raising event for the Society, it will be at Lagunitas Brew-ing Company’s TapRoom, 2607 W. 17th St., in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. (Ample parking in the Lagunitas lot.)

Have a fun evening with friends while hearing popular storyteller Nestor Gomez and fantastic music by Dead Lu-cid. Enjoy tasty food, while participating in a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, and more. For more information, or to volun-teer, contact Glenda Kenyon or Dave Louridas at devinfo@ethicalhuman.org. To avoid a higher ticket price at the door, go to ethicalhumanistsociety.org/lagunitas. See you!• Our Women’s Group meets again for coffee and con-versation on Saturday, September 17th, 10 a.m., at Curt’s Café, 922 Central St., Evanston, As usual, no reservation is needed. Just come as you are.• Our next Ethnic Dinner Out will be on Saturday, Sep-tember 24th. Join us for lively conversation and reasonably priced authentic Ethiopian cuisine at Lalibela in Edgewa-ter, 5633 N. Ashland Ave., Chicago. BYOB. No individual checks. We’ll order at 6:30 p.m. Please contact Mike Rush at ehsdinners@gmail.com to tell him you’re coming. • Our next soup kitchens are at St. Paul’s Church on Sun-day, September 11th, 1:00–4:30 p.m, and Second Baptist Church on Monday, October 24th, 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Both are in Evanston. We need a few volunteers to cook and serve a hot meal for many of our less fortunate neighbors. A sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the hallway, or contact the office for more information. • We’re back! The regular coffee and social hour after our Sunday morning programs resumes this month. We all enjoy chatting over snacks brought by our members, using a schedule corresponding to your last name: 1st Sunday, A–D; 2nd Sunday, E–K; 3rd Sunday, L–P; 4th Sunday, Q–Z. And we unanimously voted at the Annual Member-ship Meeting to continue assigning hosts for the hour. Thanks, everyone! • Memorial Day Weekend next year? We’re looking for a few good volunteers to reinvigorate and reconfigure our traditional outdoor getaway. Please reach out to the office—by late this month—if you might be interested in helping to plan this great event for our families and friends. Thanks! • Visiting the Society for the first time? Welcome! We hope you like the wide variety of our Sunday morning pro-grams and our many activities and interest groups. You may have been introduced to us at our secular Sunday School. We hope you’ve met like-minded people and found the car-ing, nonsectarian congregation you’ve been looking for. At our monthly Newcomers Chat, you can find out more about the Society and consider becoming a member. If you have any questions, please email joinus@ethicalhuman.org.

• Join one of our hard-working committees—like Ethi-cal Action, Sunday Program, Hospitality, Fund Raising, Building, Membership, Publicity, Audio-Visual, Adult Education, and Caring. Are you interested? Call Sharon Appelquist at the office.• Get a weekly e-mail update on future programs and activities—subscribe to our website: www.ethicalhuman.org. For our monthly printed newsletter, a subscription is $20 per year if you’re not a member, a contributing friend, or new on our mailing list. • Our Tribute Fund is a way of honoring each other—like condolences on the death of a loved one and congratula-tions on a birth, wedding, or personal achievement. Each tribute is printed in the newsletter. Forms are on the litera-ture tables.• Renting space in our building—for a party, meeting, class, concert, ceremony, or special event—is easy. One room or several. Reasonable prices. Contact our office for details.

Sunday School Scoop . . . Welcome to all the new and returning families to our

Golden Rule Sunday School. Lots of fun is planned. On Saturday, September 10th, is our annual Back-to-Sunday-School Potluck Picnic at Winnemac Park (Argyle and Hamilton). Our first day of Sunday School follows, on Sunday, September 11th. This year we’ll be identifying and practicing our Ethical Humanist values with many activi-ties, projects, and crafts.

The following Sunday, September 18th, we’ll get the year rolling with a favorite, Mike Rush’s “Bug Walk” at Emily Oaks Nature Center. Afterwards, we’ll have our first Sunday School Meeting. Also coming up soon is our an-nual Fall Children’s Fair, on October 23rd.

Many thanks to the families and the Ethical Action Com-mittee who took over lunch packing for the Lincoln Park Community Shelter during the summer. The Sunday School will be back in charge of lunch packing beginning on Octo-ber 2nd. And another big thank you to all who contributed to our very successful School Supplies Drive. It’s going to be another great year—see you in Sunday School!

—Katherine Ross, Director

The Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago, founded in 1882, is a chapter of the American Humanist Association.Officers & Trustees: Katherine Ross, President; Jan Kuhn, Vice

President; Ray Berg, Secretary; John Ungashick, Treasurer; Svet-lana Bekman, Matt Cole, Alan Kimmel, Sue Sherman, Ed Thomp-son.Sunday School Director: Katherine RossYES Advisors: Lisa Crowe, Sharon Appelquist Office Administrator: Sharon AppelquistNewsletter Editor: Alan Kimmel Ethical Officiants: Matt Cole, Jo-Ann Hoeppner, Tom Hoeppner, Katie Merrell, Ken Novak

Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago

7574 N. Lincoln Avenue, Skokie, IL 60077-3335Phone: (847) 677-3334; Fax: (847) 677-3335Web Site: www.ethicalhuman.orgE-mail: office@ethicalhuman.org

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Ethical humanist sociEty

SEPTEMBER 2016 CALENDARThe office of the Society is openevery weekday - 10 am to 2 pm.

Call 847-677-3334 with any questions.

2nd SAturdAy CoffeehouSe

8:00 p.m.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

film diSCuSSion Group

7:15 p.m.

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BoArd of truSteeS

7:15 p.m.

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9

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2110:30 mArk lArSon

“Ensemble: Stories from the Chi-cago Theater Community” 12:15 - Creative Writers - Sunday Program Committee

10:30 eriC Zorn “OK, Now What? Where Are the City, State, and Country Headed?” 12:15 - Fiction Circle: Dido’s Lament 1:00 - Soup Kitchen

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26 28 292710:30 Geoffrey Stone “Free Speech on Campus? Aca-demic Freedom Vs. Safe Spaces”

Golden Rule Sunday School: Sundays, 10:30 a.m. to Noon

ethiCAl drinkinG niGht 5:30 p.m.

Sundays next month: Oct. 2: Katherine Ozment; Oct. 9: Bob Creamer & Chris Robling; Oct. 16: B.C. Koh; Oct. 30: Seth Darling

Women’S Group

10 a.m.

ethniC dinner out 6:30 p.m.

no proGrAm