Humanist Association of Orange County - Newsletter for December 2005 
Issue #97 ( HTML format ) 
Editor: Benito Franqui
Associate Editor: Dave Silva

Send submissions and membership renewals to:
HAOC
2609 Fernside St.
Orange, CA 92865
benfranq@earthlink.net

Articles submitted for publication in the newsletter
must be received no later than 10 days before the
next HAOC meeting.
The Humanist Association of Orange County ( HAOC) is a chapter of the American Humanist Association.
Please visit our website at http://www.ochumanists.org

HAOC Board
President: Pete Anderson
Vice President: Dave Silva
Treasurer: Harry Becker
Secretary: Jerry Parks
Member at large: Carl Mariz
Member at large: Benito Franqui

Supernatural beliefs, “miserably fail to do justice to the sublime grandeur of the real world”  
   - Richard Dawkins

( Photo above from Skeptic Magazine Vol. 12 No. 1 )
James Randi receives an original portrait of himself painted by long-time skeptic Bob Richert.

NEXT HAOC MEETING
Sunday, December 18, 1:30 P.M.
    Dave Silva will give a brief presentation on the religious background of the Winter Solstice and the origins of Christmas.  Most of this material is from Internet articles and Larue's book Freethought Across the Centuries. 
        Attendees are invited to contribute additional thoughts on this or other topics. 

A HUMANISTIC RATIONAL PHILOSOPHY IN PSYCHIATRY
by Louis Regal, PhD
( about his presentation at last month's meeting )

     While of little interest to the general public, the scientific foundation of knowledge has been seriously eroded lately within the United States. First, the American public exhibits a relatively narrow interest and superficial understanding of "science." As a consequence, there is widespread acceptance of hearsay, superstition and the supernatural to explain the Universe.
     A second threat to science is the current administration. They have systematically ignored or edited the results of studies and research to promote their own ideology and policies. Among the areas manipulated are global warming, efficacy of condoms, abortion health issues, morning after contraceptives, and much, much more.
     To illuminate the public's gullibility, it is sometimes useful to examine some common, everyday subjects and beliefs that generally lack substantial evidence for their claims and manifestations, yet are accepted without question. Speaking to a group of humanists about ghosts, devils, witches, etc. is tantamount to preaching to the choir. Of course, they are nonsense! However, it might surprise some to know that the most rational and logical of us have similar unsubstantiated beliefs and attitudes. And yet, they can have a substantial impact on our lives.
      Psychology uses the scientific method to achieve knowledge about psychological principles. Because of many "outcome" studies, few psychotherapeutic approaches are as widely used and accepted as cognitive behavior theory. One of the most popular schools of cognitive behavior therapy is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), developed by Dr. Albert Ellis in the 1950s. The basic principles of this approach were discussed. Their compatibility with science and humanism were also discussed.

BEYOND THE ALPHA MALE:
Religion and Politics in Human Societies
by Carol Copp, PhD
     Did an all-knowing, all-powerful, etc., god evolve from the alpha male of pre-human primate societies? This view, advanced by Norman Abshear and presented in the November, 2005, HAOC newsletter, ignores historical, sociological, and anthropological knowledge. Therefore it presents a distorted view of the nature of power and control in human societies.

Religion and Social Control
      To begin with, Abshear misunderstands the nature of God, the chief deity of the Western patriarchal religious tradition. This deity incorporates both "masculine" traits (the lawgiver - ten commandments) - and "feminine" traits (nurturance and succor) : "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd...and gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom” (Isaiah 40:11) and "Come onto him all ye that labor and are heavy laden and he shall give you rest" (Mathew 11:28-29)
     When we look beyond the Western patriarchal tradition, we find that complex societies have elaborate pantheons with powerful and important male and female deities. The characteristics of these deities and the legends and myths associated with them both reflect and reinforce the social order - human roles, relationships, and hierarchies. In this manner, human mental life and its outward expression is vastly more sophisticated than that of non-human primates.

Political Organization
      Political organization varies with social complexity ranging from simple societies with simple political structures to complex societies with elaborate hierarchies. Mid-20th century anthropologist Leslie A. White observed that complex societies have a church-state. The "church" refers to the basic beliefs which mandate a template for the roles and relationships of individuals in society. The "state”, according to the early 20th century German social thinker Max Weber, is that apparatus which monopolizes the use of legitimate force within a given territory. White believed that the church-state reinforce each other and work together even when they have separate organizational structures and personnel. They are both essential for social cohesion and control.      We seem to have left the primate Alpha male in the dust! 

A QUESTION FOR THE CUSTODIANS
by Benito Franqui

     Recently, CNN's Anderson Cooper reported on a secluded New Mexico site at which the writings of Lafayette Ron Hubbard are apparently being preserved for posterity in the form of titanium or stainless steel tablets. These  writings are supposedly so valuable ( they describe the only way for intelligent creatures to become truly free ) that they have been buried there in the hope that they will be rediscovered in the future - perhaps by humans, perhaps by a more advanced species.
     Assuming that these writings are indeed so valuable - wouldn't a much easier and much more effective method to insure their preservation be to immediately make all of these writings freely available on the Internet? If billions of people had potential access to the writings, chances that the writings would survive would be significantly enhanced.
      Instead, the custodians of LRH's writings have decided to take their chances on some intelligent creatures ( perhaps thousands of years in the future ) stumbling upon the hidden tablets, and being able to decipher them. 
      I don't expect the custodians to answer this question. The custodians work in mysterious ways.  

TOO HARD TO TAKE 
From http://www.interventionmag.com/Secondary/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1160
Posted September 2, 2005
By Jim Bush
( Jim Bush is an Army veteran who lives in Portland, Oregon. ) 

Funny 
How some parents
Will fight
To allow their children
To fight
In a war

Strange
How some parents
Will deride a mother
Who's lost a son
For asking the question
Why?

Interesting
How some parents
Would rather be proud
Of their children
Than to have them safe
At home

Could it be
That for some
Pride
Is more important
Than life?

Is it possible
That for some
Fear and hate
Are stronger passions
Than love?

Maybe
For some
Meaning is found
Through the loss
Of a child?

Or maybe
For many
The real truth
Is just too hard
To take

ON THE LIGHT SIDE
Religion 101: How the Jews got the 10 Commandments

God went to the Arabs and said, "I have Commandments for you that will make your lives better."

And the Arabs asked, "What are Commandments? Can you give us an example?"

"Thou shalt not kill."

"Not kill?? No way! We're not interested."

So He went to the Blacks and said, "I have Commandments."

And the Blacks wanted an example, and the Lord said,

"Honour thy Father and Mother."

"Father? Yo maan, can't tell who our fathers are, maan!"

So He went to the Mexicans and said, "I have Commandments."

And the Mexicans wanted an example, and the Lord said,

"Thou shalt not steal."

"No steal? No steal??? Hey Senor, we no steal then howwe live, huh??

Gracias, but no!"

He went to the French and said, "I have Commandments."

The French wanted an example and the Lord said,

"Thou shalt not commit adultery."

"Not commit ze adultery..?? Non, non, monsieur, we French, we must have ze romance."

He went to the Jews and said, "I have Commandments."

"Commandments?" they asked, "how much do they cost?"

"They're free."

"We'll take 10."

Taxi Tales

        A cabbie picks up a nun. She gets into the cab, and notices that the very handsome cab driver won't stop staring at her. She asks him why he is staring. He replies: "I have a question to ask you, but I don't want to offend you"

         She answers, "My son, you cannot offend me. When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive."

"Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me."

She responds, "Well, let's see what we can do about that:

#1, you have to be single and

#2, you must be Catholic."

The cab driver is very excited and says, "Yes, I'm single and Catholic!

"OK", the nun says. "Pull into the next alley." The nun fulfils the cab driver's fantasy with a very passionate kiss. But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts crying.

"My dear child," said the nun, why are you crying?"

"Forgive me but I have sinned. I lied and I must confess, I'm married and I'm Jewish."

The nun says, "That's OK. My name is Kevin and I'm going to a Halloween party."

Marriage Logic

       A man wanted to get married. He was having trouble choosing among three likely candidates. He gives each woman a present of $5,000 and watches to see what they do with the money.

       The first does a total make over. She goes to a fancy beauty salon, gets her hair done, new make up, and buys several new outfits and dresses up very nicely for the man. She tells him that she has done this to be more attractive for him because she loves him so much. The man was impressed.

       The second goes shopping to buy the man gifts. She gets him a new set of golf clubs, some new gizmos for his computer, and some expensive clothes. As she presents these gifts, she tells him that she has spent all the money on him because she loves him so much. Again, the man is impressed.

        The third invests the money in the stock market. She earns several times the $5,000. She gives him back his $5000 and reinvests the remainder in a joint account She tells him that she wants to save for their future because she loves him so much. Obviously, the man was impressed.

       The man thought for a long time about what each woman had done with the money he'd given her. Then, he married the one with the biggest boobs.

        Men are like that, you know.

        There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on Alzheimer's research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky boobs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.