No Newsletter this month
Category: 2023
May 2023
Contents
President’s Message
I have been hearing the word “woke” in general conversations lately, a lot! Both in passing, in deliberate focus (both positive and negative,) and in social media. I mean it has been around for many years, but it seems that recently it has been more focused in my world enough to notice and cause me to pause to look. It is another word that is being evolved and given meaning that is causing emotions in folks that will drive their beliefs, thoughts and eventually actions. Enough so, that I figured it was time to say something. It is a word that many understand as “to be awaken,” but the context has deep communal roots in culture and is now being used as a weapon for those who truly do not understand nor want to. Here is a bit of info:
WHAT DOES WOKE MEAN?
Woke means being conscious of racial discrimination in society and other forms of oppression and injustice. In mainstream use, woke can also more generally describe someone or something as being “with it.”
WHERE DOES WOKE COME FROM?
Figurative woke—being socially and politically awake, or aware—starts in emerging in Black English at least by the 1940s. A 1943 article in The Atlantic quoted a black United Mine Workers official from 1940 playing with woke in a metaphor for social justice: “Waking up is a damn sight better than going to sleep, but we’ll stay woke up longer.”
By the 1960s, woke could more generally mean “well-informed” in Black English, but it still strongly aligned with political awareness, especially in the context of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950–60s and appearing in the phrase stay woke. The term was notable enough to prompt a 1962 New York Times article commenting on black slang, titled “If You’re Woke You Dig It.” Melaninful, a 1972 play about the black nationalist Marcus Garvey, Garvey Lives! by Barry Beckham, notably used woke for awareness of racial injustice in the Black community: “I been sleeping all my life. And now that Mr. Garvey done woke me up, I’m gon stay woke. And I’m gon help him wake up other black folk.”
Singer and activist Erykah Badu is credited with helping to revive woke in her 2008 song “Master Teacher,” whose chorus dreams of a better, uplifted world: “What if it were no niggas / Only master teachers? I stay woke (dreams dreams).”
After Trayvon Martin, a young unarmed black man, was shot dead in February 2012, many in the black community issued calls to stay woke to the discrimination and injustice black people face in the US, particularly in the form of police brutality. Especially under the hashtag “#staywoke” on social media, woke took off in 2014 with the Black Lives Matter movement, ignited by the tragic shooting of two other young, unarmed black men by police officers. Among activists, woke and stay woke were cries not just to be aware of racial injustice, but to organize and mobilize to do something about it.
Woke was quickly appropriated by mainstream white culture in the mid-2010s, to the criticism of many black observers. In many instances, woke did spread in keeping with its activist spirit, referring to awareness of other forms of injustice, such as sexism, anti-gay sentiment, and white privilege.
In other cases, though, the force of woke was diluted, the subject of humorous memes or just casually used as a label for anyone who is “with the times,” not necessarily engaged in the fight for justice and equality. This dilution especially occurred on woke Twitter, with major brands appearing to capitalize on social justice to appeal to millennials. Now, stay woke is pretty abundant in mainstream media…everyone from Childish Gambino to Netflix is cashing in on the phrase’s popularity, spreading its 100% important and influential meaning too.
WHO USES WOKE?
Woke sometimes takes a superlative form, wokest, emphasizing the extent of someone’s wokeness, or the state of being woke. As a result of its mainstream appropriation, woke toggles between several uses. It is still used for awareness of and activism against forms of oppression and injustice. It is also used for being conscious of “true reality” more generally, of not accepting conventional wisdom. Artificial intelligence, for instance, is often described as woke when it becomes self-aware. Woke is also sometimes just used to characterize someone as “hip” or “open-minded” as well as the source of plenty of cute puns.
Finally, in Black English, woke can also still mean just being literally “awake,” harkening back to its roots.This is not meant to be a formal definition of woke like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of woke that will help our users expand their word mastery.
My hope is that we, as humanists, wake up. Many of us are on the path and are working diligently toward waking up, stay awake and helping others along our way to make a difference. The biggest thing is to remember, being awake is not a destination…it is a journey. A beautiful, hard, messy, interesting journey with lessons learned and earned to last a lifetime.
During this time of snowy spring, with it’s promise of growth and renewal, reflect on your journey. Is there something that you feel drawn to waking up to? Something you would like to learn more about? If so, lean in and have fun learning.
Know that we see you. We are here for you. We are happy that you are part of this wonderful adventure of life. We look forward to seeing you soon.
—Kindest regards
Melanie White-Curtis
President, HoU
Chaplain’s Corner
How Small is an Absolute God?
One of the more frustrating ironies around religious belief is that the bigger your god is, the smaller your mind often is. I’m not just trying to be snarky. Granted, it very much depends on the nature of your big god.
I guess it isn’t so much the size of your god as how you think of your god. Hinduism has a complex history when it comes to the nature of god, as does the Israelite religion of the Bible that became Judaism. But neither have the intolerance of Christianity.
Christianity was the first truly exclusivist religion, the first religion to say, “Our God being right makes all of your gods false, and the absolute only way to be right with god is our right and only way”. Zoroastrianism, which heavily influenced Judaism, did teach that there was only one God and that all other gods were demons, but Zoroastrianism also encourages respect and discourages conversion. In this way, Zoroastrianism is like Judaism, which teaches, “Sure, we worship the one God and so do you, in your way. We are just chosen in a particular way so we live in a particular way.”
Back to Hinduism, Indian religions teach that there is one transcendent reality and that everything we believe here on earth is an illusion. So, they don’t so much teach that they are right as much as that no one is right. Hinduism explicitly embraces multiple paths to God, or Brahman, who represents the totality of all things. Can’t get bigger than that. Hinduism also has the idea of “Indra’s Net,” one of my favorite religious concepts, the interconnectedness of all things. We are God. We are all God.
I am double endorsed Humanist and Unity. One of my favorite things about Unity is that it teaches there is no god outside of us. God is principle, and we are all particular expressions of God. I know that many of you are put off by god language, and I respect that. For me, I believe that God talk and spirituality and religion are all just aspects of human behavior and human culture, nothing special that needs to be treated differently.
All this brings me back to the absolute small god of Christian exclusivity. On April 1st I had the dubious honor of participating with Dr. Deen Chatterjee, an esteemed academic and debater, on the topic “Is God Necessary for Ethics?” Spoiler: it was not a debate, just a Church event masquerading as a debate. There were many faith claims, but little good faith discussion on their side.
There are many ways to be a good Christian. There are many ways to be a good debater. This event was neither of these. Dr. Chatterjee and I debated Dr. James White and Pastor Jeff Durbin, who are apologists for presuppositionalist biblical literalism.
I am obsessively constructive. This is why I love doing interfaith Chaplaincy as a Humanist. I don’t like to attack the worldviews of others. But presuppositionalist biblical literalism is quite literally untenable. Rather, it is impossible to have both biblical literalism claims and intellectual integrity. To their credit, I’m dumbstruck at the clarity of the framing “presuppositionalism.” This worldview literally says that they already know they are right, so they don’t need to explain or defend why they are right. And that’s exactly how this pseudo-debate played out. This debate currently has over 120,000 views on YouTube. You can look it up on the channel “Apology Studios”.
White and Durbin made fun of me for describing myself as “Devout Agnostic,” but I embrace and celebrate the expansiveness of mind, integrity of spirit, and hopefully warmth of heart that comes with this openness. As I explained to this mostly closed audience, when I embrace that I am not the expert on others, that each person is forever mystery, I can meet them and respect them where they are and learn from them how to best engage with them.
When humans believe they are agents of an Absolute God, the irony is that they behave in ways that are small and limiting. When we embrace how small and limited we humans are, we gain access to all that life has to offer.
When people ask me, “If there is no God, if there is no afterlife, what is the point of this life?” I answer, “All of it.”
—Chaplain Jared Anderson
April 2023
Contents
A Restart
On March 19 we held what you might call our first meeting of more than just board members getting together. It was a pleasant surprise as we had most of the board members plus four or five members and three or four non-member individuals who expressed an interest in our organization.
We did a little chapter business and discussed what we might want to do in regard to discussion groups, general meetings, and special events, much like we did previously. I wasn’t actually taking minutes, but I can list some of the points I remember we touched on.
The meeting was held at the Holladay Harmons upstairs common area. While a generally suitable venue, there were issues and we need to seek a new meeting place. We can always fall back on many of Harmon’s stores if we need to. I have been advocating that we use the meeting rooms available at the City of Holladay, City Hall. The building use to be an elementary school. Half of the building is a police station and half is the city hall. There are four rooms for rent, two large and two small. The largest has a capacity of 200 with a stage and screen and podium and a full kitchen. The other large room has a capacity of 100 with a small kitchen. The two small rooms have a capacity of 50, one with tables and chairs. Other facilities they have for rent include: Holladay city park gazebo, Holladay city park picnic Pavilion, Knudsen park picnic pavilion and Knudsen park outdoor classroom. All are reasonably priced.
We’re planning to have our next discussion group/ board meeting on Saturday the 15th of April at the Holladay city hall John Holladay Room from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. I hope you’ll consider joining us. The address is 4580 South 2300 East, Holladay, Utah 84117.
Along with discussion group meetings we committed to having our first Darwin Day in a few years. Next February, Dr. Craig Wilkinson is taking charge of the event. I am happy that Darwin Day will be back! It is one of the events I’m most proud of. We have sponsored this event for many years in the past.
We also decided to revive our Thomas Paine Day, or as we decided at some point to call it Founding Father’s Day, possibly in July or September. Probably in July we will also be planning to have our annual BBQ in August. I’m not sure we will have a general meeting every month yet.
I almost forgot that we decided that we will be moving our meetings to the weekend and during daylight hours as many members now and in the past have commented that driving at night was difficult and kept them from attending our meetings. We have also ruled out meeting at the Unitarian Church where weekends are not available and would also likely need to be after dark.
We also talked a little about current issues, had some refreshments and generally enjoyed being able to meet in person again finally.
I know I’ve probably forgotten some of the things we discussed, but this will have to do.
I hope all is well and I hope you will join us soon.
—Robert Lane
HoU Chapter Member
Chaplain’s Corner
Entropy and Empathy
“How rare and beautiful it is to even exist…the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes”.
So go my favorite lyrics of one of my favorite songs, a personal lullaby that I listen to every night before bed. These phrases are both inspiring and scientifically defensible… our existence is staggeringly improbable, conscious existence even more so. And though we can’t attribute meaning or intention to the universe, it is demonstrably true that we are the universe experiencing itself. The universe came into existence, we came into existence, and now we are experiencing ourselves, each other, and the universe.
Whether existence is beautiful is a more difficult question. A fair summary must acknowledge that existence is both beautiful and dreadful, awesome, and awful all at once. And on many days, it can seem like everything is falling apart. As Newton’s second law of thermodynamics states, everything IS falling apart! Entropy always increases, which is why we are marching toward the inevitable heat death of the universe, a state of maximum entropy.
Belief in God can and does bring a delusional, avoidant comfort, the assurance that despite all evidence to the contrary, a super powerful being is in control of everything and will make sure that everything turns out ok. Of course, this belief causes its own (theo)logical problems, as Epicurus so succinctly and devastatingly summarized: If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful. If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good. If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?
We humanists share neither the comfort nor struggle of explaining our human suffering: Nature simply doesn’t care. Not only does Nature not care, but the mechanisms of Nature are heartbreakingly inefficient, from our conscious, empathetic perspective. Why is there suffering? Why does everything fall apart? Because that is the math of the Universe. In a letter to his close friend J. D. Hooker, Charles Darwin complained, “What a book a devil’s chaplain might write on the clumsy, wasteful, blundering, low, and horribly cruel work of nature!” As just one example, all of us can imagine baby sea turtles struggling across sand to sea… these beautiful beings can live a century, but as few as 1 in 10,000 survive to adulthood, or a hundredth of a percent. Nature doesn’t care. It works, whatever the cost.
But here’s the pivot. Nature DOES care. The Universe DOES care. At least… a part of Nature cares. A part of the Universe cares. Specifically, the human part of nature cares. At least some of us. Other animals care too: elephants, dogs, and orcas come immediately to mind. The more conscious life is, the more it cares about the preciousness of life.
Personally, I find this framework to be clarifying, sobering, and inspiring, all at once. Social entropy and efficiency explain why in general, people coast along and do the minimum they have to, often while complaining about it. It also explains why often the worst circumstances bring out the best in us, or more precisely, bring out the best in some of us. Entropy explains why it is so hard to change systems, as systems seek to stay the same and individuals in those systems are often willing to cause discomfort to others in order to minimize their own.
We find ourselves in a race to the death between cataclysm and innovation. Yes, chaos hurts. But it is also inevitable, and it is also fuel for greater order. Tony Robbins popularized the idea that change does not happen until the pain of the pain becomes greater than the pain of staying the same.
It is ok, even inevitable, that we grapple with grief as well as gratitude, and that we both marvel and mourn. Grief is its own gift. As we grieve the costs of entropy and the inefficiency of nature, we are also motivated and empowered to decrease suffering and increase efficiency, at least in our own lives. We are the few, the precious few, who see and feel and feel motivated to do something about what we see and feel.
We can rage against the dying of the light, but we should not resist it. Entropy is simply how the universe works, but we are the order among that entropy. We can draw from the chaos, feel motivated by the cost, and become a good infection that can work toward healing the world. Or at least our small part of it.
And that is enough.
—Chaplain Jared Anderson
March 2023
Contents
Discussion Group Meeting
Informal Discussion
Why Are We Here?
Sunday, March 19, 2023
Harmons Holladay Market
Holladay, UT 84117
If you like, you can pick up a beverage at the coffee shop to bring upstairs for a discussion with fellow humanists. HoU will buy some cookies for all. (please email board@humanistsofutah.org so can buy enough cookies—if you identify your favorite variety we will use that as a suggestion.
Chaplain’s Corner
Redeemed Realism
The current flavor of humanism is optimistic. Humans are awesome! Humans are great! Or at least, humans are as good as it gets! (I think humans are small, selfish, and social. We are as good as we are incentivized and empowered to be. More on that in a later column.)
One of the most important critiques of humanism is that it reflects limited perspective. The rallying cry of human awesomeness too often means that it’s awesome to be a human who is a white intellectual (basically the perspective of Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now.) Too often humanism doesn’t reflect (or attract) much diversity, thus mostly reflecting the perspective of white men. Social Science has a “Weird Problem”, and humanism too often (and not coincidentally) has the same problem. As Malcolm Gladwell talks about in Talking To Strangers, Our understanding of human nature is too often simply an understanding of the students of the researchers who write about human nature. Thus, our textbook understanding of humans reflects a Western, Educated, Industrial, Rich, Democratic perspective.
I believe an important reason that humanism is not more impactful is because of this limited perspective. I also believe the most responsible humanism is a humanism that doesn’t just focus on humans, but respects all life, the interconnected web of existence called the biosphere. Thich Nhat Hanh’s Engaged Buddhism is grounded in this concept of “Interbeing.“
But getting back to humans, too often humanist rhetoric is not plugged into our day to day reality, where most of us are “barely hanging on”, as Alain de Botton quips in his TED talk Atheism 2.0 (highly recommended.) My humanist call to ministry came as an impression to serve the imprisoned and dying. I intuited that the most important field test of humanism would be to minister to those at the extremes of human experience.
Those I work with laugh when I share one of my favorite jokes. Three test tubes are labeled Optimist, Pessimist, and Realist. The Optimist says, “I’m half full!” Pessimist says, “I’m half empty!” Realist says, “I think this is pee.” This joke plays with the fact that most of us focus on the surface details rather than deep aspects of reality.
Ok, now it’s time for the point, and it might be the most important point I ever share.
Making peace with the dark and difficult might be the most important thing you ever do. Fortitude is the mother of all virtues because it’s really hard to sit with how hard life is. I believe that most evil and terrible things stem from pain and effort avoidance (in the midst of systemic oppression.) Understandably we don’t want to hurt, but we also don’t want to work harder than we need to.
The powerful paradox is that once we embrace the challenge of life, we release all the energy that we had been previously expending on avoidance. Fear and anxiety are exhausting. Avoidance is expensive. It is scary to face the fear and anxiety, but once we do, we free up our resources and plug into our power.
I am moved by Victor Frankl’s term “tragic optimism,” the idea that we can and should stay optimistic in even the hardest circumstances. With respect to Frankl, I prefer the framing of “Redeemed Reality” when we clearly and courageously assess the truth about ourselves and our circumstances, we have the best chance of making the best of those circumstances. Toxic positivity and spiritual bypassing are terms used in ministry that refer to jumping ahead to positive framings (Brene Brown condemns the practice of “silver lining”) without doing the hard work of remaining present in challenge and grief. One of my favorite compliments during Divinity School was from my Preaching Professor, who said of my final project, “Wow Jared, that was really heavy and dark. But it is a testament to your skill that we hung in there with you.”
It has now been over six years that I have followed the intuitive invitation to serve the imprisoned and dying. I want to serve those who serve at the extremes of human experience, so that I can help those in the broadest range of human experience. Chaplains show up where life breaks open, but the truth is, all of our lives break open. As my favorite poet David Whyte observes in his book Consolations, “Heartbreak begins the moment we are asked to let go but cannot, in other words, it colors and inhabits and magnifies each and every day; heartbreak is not a visitation, but a path that human beings follow through even the most average life.”
Our humanism will be better for humans and all life when we courageously ground it in lived reality. I’m encouraging all of us to engage in an existential workout that will dramatically improve your life. What is your point of minimal acceptable wellness? What do you think you could deal with it, if you needed to? We could call this snuggling your rock bottom, using it as a mattress. “Embrace the suck” is a military term that also aligns with Buddhism. If life is going to be hard and painful, avoidance is a waste of time. Spend the currency of pain and consequence. I also call this “cleaning out the rabbit hole “We are often and understandably afraid of what could happen, how bad things could get. This fearful wrestling with hypotheticals is exhausting. If we spend time making peace with even that hardship, reassuring ourselves that we will be ok, even if things get hard (as they inevitably will), we reduce anxiety and can show up more powerfully to our own lives.
—Chaplain Jared Anderson
Oasis
In the past, while talking to someone at one of our meetings, I would characterize our chapter of the AHA as an oasis of rationality in a world chaos and irrationality. When the pandemic hit, it put an end to us and everybody in the world for that matter from getting together in groups. But, even though the covid virus is still around, it’s slowly been getting to where infection rates are coming down for the most part and especially the possibility of it being fatal is much lower. With that in mind, members of the board have been meeting once a month on Sunday for coffee to discuss a variety of subjects. I’m happy to say that we have decided to take the first step by planning for our Sunday get together to become a discussion group for all members and guests to attend. Part of the first discussion group will be to talk about who we are and what we want to do going forward. We hope that some of you will attend and give us some suggestions. But I must admit that in all the years that I have been on the board of directors our request for input, or submissions to the newsletter or to ask that some of the membership volunteer to serve on the board have been met with silence. So, I ask that you give our chapters future some thought and let us know how you feel.
As I mentioned, some members have been meeting on Sunday, and we would like to continue to meet on Sunday in late morning or early afternoon. Some have suggested Sunday because as humanists we’re not going to church so why not get together then? Others have expressed that they are not comfortable driving at night, so morning or afternoon is preferred as a time to meet. For small meetings we enjoy meeting at Harmons Grocery stores because they have areas upstairs where there are tables and chairs for small groups. Plus, you can purchase refreshments to take upstairs with you.
Also, for larger gatherings, I have been looking into using facilities at Holladay city hall. They are located in what used to be a school. On one end is a police station and on the other end is city hall. In the basement they have rooms they rent out. Two of the rooms are small and a good size for a discussion group. Two larger rooms have a capacity 100 and 200. The larger rooms have kitchen facilities and the largest rooms has a stage and electronics and a screen. The large room looks ideal for our Darwin Day celebration.
I hope you will give our chapter some thought and let us know what you think. Also keep an eye out for announcements for where and when we will be meeting. Thanks for being members of Humanists of Utah and I hope to see some of you soon.
—Robert Lane
HoU Chapter Member
Check it Out
I have recently become aware of a really fun podcast (thanks Salt Lake Tribune!) It’s called “City Cast Salt Lake” and boy did it come at just the right time. Listening to it is making me feel re-invigorated about living in Salt Lake.
They talk about all sorts of things: like a recent “why isn’t this housing” episode, discussions about the ballpark, and always keeping on top of legislation going forward. Plus, lots of interviews with local people that adds to the “it’s great to be living here” feeling: like city planners and Trib reporters. It’s done with fun and energy and a love of our city.
So, check it out! It’s a weekday podcast around 20 minutes or so, a great break in the day.
—Lisa Miller
HoU Board Member
February 2023
Contents
President’s Message
I hope that this finds you well and happy. This year is offering a hopeful perspective in terms of rising from the ashes of the previous couple of years of chaos and turmoil. We have all experienced heavy things and persevered. We have all learned much. To add to your learning, I want to offer a bit of interesting information about who we are and what/why we believe the way we do. The humanistic perspective is a psychological approach that values human potential, creativity, and free will. It emerged in the mid-20th century as a reaction to deterministic views of psychoanalysis and behaviorism. It was influenced by philosophers like Sartre and existentialism, and by human rights and social justice movements. It was pioneered by psychologists like Maslow and Rogers, who proposed theories of self-actualization and client-centered therapy. This is where Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs was born. The theory states that there are certain needs that we must meet to grow and develop It emphasizes empathy, respect, and unconditional positive regard for each individual as a unique and holistic person. It has applications in education, counselling, health, and social work, as well as in personal growth and development. It is critical thinking like this that enables individuals to grow in their lives, to self-regulate in ways that contribute their world both on a personal level, a familial level, a community level and ultimately on a global level for the betterment of all.
To some, this may seem like simplistic beliefs and that “it can’t be THAT simple”. Actually, yes it can. It is a foundation of thought that you build on in your lives. Yes, there is so much more, but this is how it all starts. For each of us. It starts accountability for yourself. You, and you alone are responsible for your life. Yes, there are variables and not everything is in your control from outside stimulus. However, YOU are able to decide how you want to feel, want to respond (or don’t), what you choose to believe (or not believe) and how you want to present yourself into your life. The best part is that this can always change, whenever you want to. It’s so wonderfully empowering. The most difficult part is just learning how to drive your life with these basic thought processes in place. That is the real adventure.
This year is going to be full of growth, adventure and rising from the ashes for our group. The world is a different place than it was pre-pandemic. It is critical to keeping this in mind as we re-evaluate how we want to present to you, to each other, to the community and to the world. Welcome to the new year of growth and prosperity. We are excited you are here with us and can’t wait to see you soon.
—Melanie White-Curtis
HoU President
Why Doesn’t Humanism Work Better?
What does humanism have that religion doesn’t? YOU! At least kind of, since you are reading this column…
There are lots of playful answers we could give to this question. Lies, stupid people, ghosts… (unfortunately, humanism does indeed have a fraction of that list). Why don’t more humans call themselves humanists? Sometimes I call humanism the coolest worldview people have never heard of, similar to how I call Chaplaincy the coolest job people have rarely thought of. I’m not asking why more humans aren’t humanists, because they are!
I am fascinated by this puzzle, about how almost every human is a humanist but doesn’t think to admit it, and why, with all of its problems, religion remains so powerful. Virtually every human being in 2023 is a humanist. How can I know? Because virtually every current global institution is humanist. The core idea of humanism is a human-centered approach to life. If you are asking yourself “Um, what else would we center life around, other than humans?” that shows just how deeply humanism has saturated our world and worldviews. Politics, the Arts, Economics, Education, Business… every one of our cultural institutions (other than religion) is human-centered, and therefore humanist. Ergo, we are all humanists. So why aren’t more of us excited about being humanists? Why don’t more of us claim humanism?
Let’s talk about religion for a minute. Religion is weird. Religion is powerful. Religion is powerful in part because it is weird. Religion is powerful because it is both comprehensive and implicit. It impacts every part of believers’ lives, and they take for granted that their beliefs are real. Other cultural institutions are explicitly human. Religion is the only human institution that pretends it isn’t a human institution. Religion is taken for granted internally, and creates friction externally, which then triggers tribalism. It’s a powerful and often terrifying recipe.
Religion is also a reason why humanism isn’t more powerful and organized. Many of us are responding to or reacting against religion. We are humanists precisely because we don’t like religion. We’ve been burned by religion and burned by cultural institutions. In addition, we are constantly being told what to do, what to like, and so current humanism often has an independent, anti-joining flavor.
Unitarian Universalism provides a fascinating bridge between religion and humanism. In fact, the UU humanists are likely the largest group of congregational humanists in existence. It’s fitting that Humanists of Utah has met at the local UU building. UU benefits from its religious history and organization, including the humanists, but it also illustrates the limits of this type of humanism. There’s nothing to fight about, not much specificity.
So, what’s the key to being a better humanist? One idea is to not make yourself a humanist, but to make humanism yours. Get specific. Get neurotic if that’s your thing. Figure out what you are already passionate about and claim that as your humanist beliefs and rituals. For example, I have created my own Pantheon (I’m dramatic like that), and it’s been a powerful practice to meditate and reflect on the principles of Life, Elegance, Expedience, and Integrity (My Pantheon personifies my value of prioritizing elegant efficient approaches to well-being).
And as you figure out what kind of humanist you are, what makes you a passionate human, join the conversation. From this point of authenticity, we can create a sustainable community, at whatever level you choose to engage.
—Jared Anderson
HoU Chaplain
Territories
Last October I included the lyrics of a song by the rock group Rush titled “Witch Hunt” which is a song with a message. I decided to expand on my love of music and especially message songs this month. Do you ever think about what group, album, or songs you would put on your top 10 or even top 20 lists? I do, and the Rush album “Power Windows” is right up there for me. The titles of some of the songs give a hint as to the message, like “The Big Money” which speaks to how big money goes around the world doing good and bad, or the track “Manhattan Project” which is about the beginning of the atomic age, with a passage that says, “The big shots—try to hold it back, fools try to wish it away.” But My favorite on this album is “Territories.” For me it speaks to the fact that humanity is so fearful and warlike. I am going to transcribe the lyrics here for you to read through a time or two. Click here to see a YouTube video of the song.
Territories
I see the Middle Kingdom between Heaven and Earth
Like the Chinese call the country of their birth
We all figure that our homes are set above
Other people than the ones we know and love
In every place with a name
They play the same territorial game
Hiding behind the lines
Sending up warning signs
(refrain)
The whole wide world
An endless universe
Yet we keep looking through
The eyeglass in reverse
Don’t feed the people
But we feed the machines
Can’t really feel
What international means
In different circles
We keep holding our ground
Indifferent circles
We keep spinning round and round
We see so many tribes—overrun and undermined
While their invaders dream of lands they’ve left behind
Better people better food—and better beer
Why move around the world when Eden was so near?
The bosses get talking so tough
And if that wasn’t evil enough
We get the drunken and passionate pride
Of the citizens along for the ride
(refrain)
They shoot without shame
In the name of a piece of dirt
For a change of accent
Or the color of your shirt
Better the pride that resides
In a citizen of the world
Than the pride that divides
When a colorful rag is unfurled
Before I bid you ado, can we talk politics for a minute? I’m sure I’m not the first to see in such simple terms, but I was thinking of how to describe the difference between Democrats and Republicans without writing a book. While I know that generalizing about groups of people is troublesome, I put it this way. Republicans do things to people. Democrats do things for people. If you think about it, you can come up with many examples. Just one big example is healthcare where democrats gave us the affordable care act and republicans continue to try to take it away. Of course, the list is very long.
I am hoping we will be scheduling a discussion group get together soon. It has been far too long since we’ve had any kind of meeting. I have suggested we meet at Holiday city hall where they have several meeting rooms of various sizes and plenty of parking. There are also outdoor facilities for a barbeque when weather permits. I am looking forward to springtime and getting together with some rational free thinking folks.
—Robert Lane
HoU Board member
Hag-Seed
~Book Review~
Margaret Atwood is a Canadian author with more than 35 volumes of fiction, poetry, children’s literature, and non-fiction to her credit. She is perhaps most famous for her Handmaid’s Tale.
Hag-Seed is a retelling of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest; indeed, the story is retold several times through the eyes of different characters of the novel. Felix, the book’s main character, is shocked when his planned production of Tempest at a Theater Festival is cancelled with political machinations at his longtime employer. He goes incognito, adopts a second persona, and contacts a local prison and uses inmates to film a production of Shakespeare’s farewell play.
The Tempest is among my favorites of Shakespeare’s plays, I’ve seen it many times over the years. I really enjoyed this book; while I no longer read books, I listened to it on Audible narrated by R.H. Thompson who does an amazing job of reading. Felix and other characters have active, some extremely active, imaginations and Thompson’s characterizations add a great deal of context to the novel.
The title Hag-Seed means the progeny of a witch. Caliban was birthed by Sycorax, is one of the leading characters in the story. He is a monster that Prospero, the main character who has been exiled to an island with his young daughter Miranda enslaves. Caliban, I learned in my class at university in 1972 and 73, may have been inspired by early17th century explorers returning to England from the New World who brought Native Americans with them to display in Court. Besides Caliban there is a spirit character named Ariel who was imprisoned within a tree by Sycorax who does not actually appear in the play. Ariel was released from the tree by Prospero but had to serve him to earn freedom. It is Ariel who created the tempest and directed much of the confusion among the other characters.
A New York Times book review says, “A marvel of gorgeous yet economical prose, in the service of a story that’s utterly heartbreaking yet pierced by humor, with a plot that retains considerable subtlety even as the original’s back story falls neatly into place.” If you decide to read this book and are not familiar with the play, I suggest you start with the Epilogue (chapter 50 in Audible version) which as a succinct summary of Shakespeare’s story) which will help you follow the sometimes rambling development of the story’s many threads.
—Wayne Wilson
HoU Board Member