ChiCago EthiCal humanist Newsletter of the Ethical humanist sociEty of chicago

May 2013

Welcome to Our Sunday Morning Programs in MayJAMES SWARTZ, an associate professor at the Jane Ad-dams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois–Chicago, speaks Sunday, May 5th, on “Substance Abuse Policy in America: The Forgotten War.” Swartz will cover major issues and events in the nation’s continuing “War on Drugs.” He will discuss that policy’s punitive nature, its social, race-related repercussions, the main actors in driving it, and the ongoing debate over legalization, harm reduction, medical marijuana, and border security.

KENAN HEISE, retired reporter for the Chicago Tribune and author of The Book of the Poor, speaks Sunday, May 12th, on “A Unique Mothers Day Look at Women in Pov-erty.” From his many years of listening to the voices of the

poor, Heise will share some of the experiences, sentiments, and hopes of the hundreds of poor and destitute women he has interviewed. His talk will be tied in to the Society’s Ethi-cal Poverty Project.

Our annual MEMBERSHIP RECOGNITION program is on Sunday, May 19th. We’ll salute our hard-working staff and many volunteers, honor our Sunday School children, parents, and teachers, and welcome our new members. It will be a time to celebrate our growing Ethical community.

Note: There is no regular Sunday morning program at the Greiner Center on May 26th, when we’ll be at our Memorial Day weekend at the George Williams center on Geneva Lake.

• Our Memorial Day Weekend retreat, at the George Wil-liams College Conference Center in Williams Bay, Wis-consin, is at the end of the month, on May 25–27. Enjoy a relaxing, fun-filled time with us on beautiful Geneva Lake. There may still be time to make your reservations! For room availability and prices, please check with Sharon Appelquist at the office (847-677-3334). Program suggestions are still welcome, too.• Our Ethical Poverty Project continues to investigate ef-fective anti-poverty efforts in and around Chicago. Its next meeting is on Sunday, May 12th, 12:30 p.m., after Kenan Heise’s program. For information or to contribute to our base of knowledge, check with Ken Novak at kennovak@gmail.com. See more at ethicalhuman.org/povertyproject.• Our next Fiction Circle is on Sunday, May 5th, at 12:30 p.m. We’ll discuss Jane Hamilton’s The Book of Ruth. An Oprah’s Book Club selection, this novel is about alienation and violence swirling around a small-town Illinois woman. It is available in most libraries. For an audio copy, contact Ken Novak at 847 414-4314 or kennovak@gmail.com. • Our popular Second Saturday Coffeehouse, hosted by Vicki Elberfeld, is on May 11th. Operatic soprano Chris-tine Steyer will present an exceptional program, “So You Want to Be a Diva?” Winner of the 2012 American Prize Chicago Opera Award and the 2012 Johnny Mercer Award, Steyer will sing operatic arias and show tunes and amuse us with stories of costume disasters and wayward voice lessons.

We’ll begin at 8 p.m. with a short open mic. The $8 donation at the door includes beverages and pastries. • If you like movies, you’ll enjoy our Film Discussion Group. We meet on Monday, May 20th, at 7:15 p.m. Led by John Ungashick, we’ll share views on two current films.

The Company You Keep is about a 1970s radical who revisits his violent past. It was directed by and stars Robert Redford, with Julie Christie, Terence Howard, Shia LeB-eouf, Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon, and Stanley Tucci.

The Place Beyond the Pines is a vivid three-act portrayal of desperation and survival. It was directed by Derek Cian-france, with Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, Bradley Cooper, and Ray Liotta. • Our Creative Writers group, led by John Taylor, meets on May 19th, the third Sunday of the month, at 12:15 p.m. As usual we will be sharing our short, original works. A warm welcome to newcomers!

Recent Sunday Programs• John Nichols, Washington correspondent for The Nation, spoke March 17th on “Obama’s Re-election and the Man-date for a Caring Society.” Alan Kimmel was moderator.

Coming Society Events

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The meetinghouse of the Society is at 7574 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie. Our Sunday programs start at 10:30 a.m. A social hour follows. There is parking on Jerome St., Howard St., and at the nearby Albany Bank. If you need transportation, call the office by 1 p.m. Friday—we’ll try to get a ride for you.

Nichols said there are high hopes that President Obama can solve many of our problems, including those stemming from “the original sin of slavery.” But “we ask more of him than any President since Lincoln,” he added. “The great challenge of his first term was to deal with an incredible economic crisis and two unpaid-for wars.” Calling Obama’s reelection a “remarkable mandate” and a “radical rejection of the Republican austerity agenda,” Nichols said that with a 51 to 47 percent victory in the popular vote “he didn’t just scrape by.”

Nichols said that the new U.S. Senate is “more progres-sive than at any time in history” and noted that although gerrymandering kept the Republicans in control of the House, the Democrats won in the total popular vote. Nich-ols argued that “politics can’t end on election day,” urging us to “continue talking to our elected officials.” He pointed out that politicians often want to do the right thing, but that “we must make them do it.” He closed with a dramatic quote from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass: “Stride on, Democracy!”

• Susan Urban and Phil Cooper, who have previously per-formed at our Second Saturday Coffeehouse as the “Feb-ruary Sky” ensemble, presented a lively program of folk music, “All the Stories Are True,” on March 24th. They were introduced by Julie Daraska.

Urban and Cooper sprinkled their many vocal and instru-mental “story songs” with thoughtful commentaries on how they came to write them. They said that as folk songs they are based on “the real aspects of life” and strongly reflect “the truth of imagination and dreams.”

• Dorothy Roberts, Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke March 31st on “Fatal Invention: Re-creating Race in the 21st Century.” Matt Cole was moderator.

Roberts called race an “invented political myth” histori-cally used to support the conquest of other peoples. “Race is not a fact of nature,” she continued, and the classification of human beings into races “is not supported by real science.” Nevertheless, she charged, race has been resurrected in the 21st Century. “Race is a political issue,” she declared.

Focusing especially on disparities in health care, Roberts condemned diagnoses and drug therapy based on whether a person is white or black. While genetic testing is useful, for example in treating some cancers, she warned of its dan-gers. The incidence of disease and poor health is related not to race, she said, but to social inequalities and lack of access to health care. “My mission is to end the social inequality,” she added. “We need to affirm our shared humanity.”

• Aaron Pelletier, Medical Director of Microsurgery at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion, Illinois, continued our World of Work series on April 7th, speaking

on “My Job as a Plastic Surgeon.” Madeline Brownstone was moderator.

Pelletier pointedly referred to the field of “reconstructive surgery,” especially needed to remedy the damage done in accidents. Noting that he specializes in breast reconstruc-tion following cancer surgery, he described and showed graphic slides of some of his recent work. He recounted his early medical training, which, “fueled by my interest in how things work,” led to his chosen field of microsurgery. “It’s hard, complex, and challenging,” he said.

Pelletier said that giving his patients hope and a will to go on with their lives is “most fulfilling.” They “are very grateful,” he added. Deciding when surgery is necessary or merely palliative or cosmetic is an ethical problem, he said. He derided for-profit hospitals and called for standardizing medical treatment and making it available to everyone.

From the President . . . Is Ethical Humanism a religion? Certainly not in Web-

ster’s sense of “the service and worship of God or the supernatural.” The answer could be “yes,” though, applying a broader definition of “a cause, principle, or system of be-liefs.” But those beliefs are not based on faith, in its specific definition of “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” “Philosophy” comes closer as “a search for truth through logical reasoning rather than factual observation.” But ruling out factual observation, especially when mod-ern science has so expanded the realm of the observable, imposes such an unnecessary restriction as to seemingly render the field of philosophy passé.

So I will offer my own working definition of Ethical Hu-manism as simply “reality-based ethics.” We seek ethical, considerate, productive, and fulfilled lives, and we work towards a world where the opportunity for a good life is denied to no one. We base our search in this world: observ-ing, testing, learning, discussing, and reconsidering. We all participate, we all contribute, and we can all feel rewarded by the effort. —Steve Julstrom

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The Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago, founded in 1882, is a member of the American Ethical Union and a chapter of the Ameri-can Humanist Association.

Officers & Trustees: Steve Julstrom, President; Lisa Crowe, Vice President; Sue Walton, Secretary; John Ungashick, Treasurer; Laura Drower, Tom Hoeppner, Alan Kimmel, Jan Kuhn, Christine Martin, Ed McManus, Katherine Ross, Sue Sherman

Sunday School Director: Amy JarjuseyYES Advisors: Katie Merrell, Melanie Neal Newsletter Editor: Alan Kimmel Ethical Officiants: Jo-Ann Hoeppner, Tom Hoeppner,

Ellen McManus, Ken Novak

Tribute Fund• Congratulations to Adrian Drower on the publication of your poems. We’re so proud of you! —from Ed & Laura drowEr

Activities and Announcements• Our delegates to the American Ethical Union’s Annual Assembly, in Virginia, June 13–16, are Tom and Jo-Ann Hoeppner, Steve Julstrom, and Sue Walton. As a member of the AEU Board, Scott Walton is also a delegate. The As-sembly’s theme is “Inspiring Action: Making a Difference.”• A Visit from the AEU. Bart Worden, Executive Director of the American Ethical Union, visited the Society over the April 13–14 weekend. On Saturday, some 16 members of the Society had a wide-ranging discussion with Bart on our relations with the AEU. On Sunday he presented a platform on cultivating ethical relationships with others.• Are you a newcomer to the Society? Do you enjoy our Sunday morning programs? Have you made new friends at our many activities? Do you share our ethical humanist out-look? Find out about membership by leaving a message for Matt Cole or Buzz States at the office. Our next Newcomers Chat is on Sunday, May 12th, at 12:15 p.m. • Our Coffee and Social Hour depends on the snacks we bring on Sunday morning. We’ll have plenty of delicious stuff to munch on if we follow a monthly schedule corre-sponding to our last names: 1st Sun. A to D; 2nd Sun. E to K; 3rd Sun. L to P; 4th Sun. Q to Z; 5th Sun. all. Thanks!• Get weekly e-mail updates on coming programs and activities. Subscribe at our website: www.ethicalhuman.org. For our printed newsletter, a subscription is $20 per year if you’re not a member, a contributing friend, or new on our mailing list. • Getting married? Naming your baby? Having a me-morial service? Our Ethical Officiants—JoAnn Hoeppner, Tom Hoeppner, Ellen McManus, and Ken Novak—are authorized by the American Ethical Union to perform mar-riages, baby namings, and memorials. For a caring, secular ceremony, call our office. • Our Tribute Fund is a way we honor each other—like for condolences on losing a loved one and congratulations on a wedding, graduation, or personal achievement. Tributes are printed in the newsletter. Forms are on the literature tables.• Volunteers drive the Society. Join one of our busy com-mittees, such as Ethical Action, Adult Education, Member-ship, Hospitality, Building, Publicity, A/V, and Caring. We also need new people to revitalize our Fundraising commit-tee and the Ethnic Dinner Out. Please contact our volunteer coordinator, Sharon Appelquist, at the office.

• Do you have an event to share? Or need help? Our Community@EthicalHuman.org email list is an open forum for use by members and friends of the Society. You can sign up on the bulletin board or contact the office. • For Sunday parking, use our lot, a space at the adjoining store, Howard or Jerome St., or at the Albany Bank. • Public transportation to our Sunday meetings? The #290 bus leaves the Howard L station at 9:30 a.m. and goes to Touhy and Cicero, a short walk to our building. A #290 bus to the Howard station leaves Touhy and Cicero at 1:20 p.m. The Oakton St. station on the Yellow Line is also nearby.

Our People . . .• Sharon Musser has joined the Society. Sharon lives in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood and works in a not-for-profit center to help the homeless. Our name, “Ethical Humanist,” attracted her to the Society. Welcome, Sharon! • Adrian Drower, a graduate of our Sunday School and son of Laura and Ed Drower, is a published poet. Two of his poems are in A Room of Golden Shells: 100 Works by Artists and Writers with Down Syndrome. Beautifully done, Adrian!• Oliver Pergams, a longtime Society member and evo-lutionary biologist at Olive-Harvey College, received an award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Technology at the 2013 International Conference on Col-lege Teaching and Learning. Congratulations, Oliver!• Jerry Dincin, a former member of the Society, has died at the age of 82. Longtime head of Thresholds, a prominent mental-health agency, Jerry was also a strong advocate of the right-to-die movement. Our condolences to his wife, Suzanne, and his children, Laura, Paul, Maya, and Bruce.

Sunday School Scoop . . . We’ve been ringing in the spring for quite some time

now! April was full of hands-on activities: performing at the Spring Festival, where we also handed out flower pots that we had painted and planted for our Ethical Humanist com-munity, a neighborhood clean-up, a day of games and spring projects, and our traditional environmental spring work day at Emily Oaks, where our families helped lay new wood-chips on the pathways.

We’ll return to Emily Oaks for our annual family potluck picnic on May 5th. Come on out and join us for some spring fun! (Bring a dish to share.) Our children will enjoy Moth-er’s Day on May 12th by making something special for moms, and believe it or not our graduation day and teacher appreciation is just after that, on May 19th. That will close out the school year. The time sure has gone so quickly!

The Sunday School will again be closed from June through August, but we’ll be back for a new year in Septem-ber. We will miss you all and hope you enjoy some lovely family time, sunshine, and vacations!

Respectfully, —Amy Jarjusey, Director

The Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago is a democratic fellowship and spiritual home for those who seek a rational, compassionate philosophy of life without regard to belief in a supreme being.

Like traditional religious communities, we celebrate births, conduct wedding ceremonies, host memorial services, and pro-vide for the caring, ethical education of our children. We believe in deed beyond creed and in working for a better world.

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

MAY 2013 CALENDARThe office of the Society is openevery weekday - 10 am to 2 pm.

Call 847-677-3334 with any questions.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

Film Discussion Group

7:15 p.m.

4

10:30 Kenan Heise

“A Unique Mothers Day Look at Women in Poverty”12:15 - Newcomers Chat 12:30 - Ethical Poverty Project

BoarD oF TrusTees

7:15 p.m.

2 31

10:30 memBersHip recoGniTion 9:30 - Sunday School Parents Meeting12:15 - Sunday Program Committee - Creative Writers

10:30 James swarTz “Substance Abuse Policy in America: The Forgotten War”12:30 - Fiction Circle

119 107 85 6

16 17 1814 1512 13

2523 2421 2219 20

26 27 28

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

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memorial Day weeKenD reTreaT

Sundays next month: June 2: Annual Membership Meeting; June 9: David Wokosin; June 16: Anil Kashyap; June 23: John Ungashick

2nD saTurDay coFFeeHouse

8:00 p.m.