North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture

Prior Platform Speakers

2008 Speakers

• March 30, 11:00 a.m.

Clark Jones, Musician, Poet
Topic: Ethics & Music
 
• March 23, 11:00 a.m.

Rev. Hoyle
Topic: The 7 Deadly Sins
 
• March 16, 11:00 a.m.

Randy Best, Leader of North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
Topic: Towards Objective Truth and Universal Ethics
 
• March 2, 11:00 a.m.

Prof. Sarah Shields, Ph.D. History at UNC Chapel Hill
Topic: Thoughts on Reentry: American Politics After Returning From Syria
 
• February 17, 11:00 a.m.

Dr. David Pfennig, Professor of Biology at UNC Chapel Hill
Topic: Evolution: How It Works and Why It's Important
Platform Overview: Evolution is as much a scientific fact as the germ theory and the atomic theory. Moreover, it unifies all of the life sciences. Yet, many people, including even some educators and policy makers, have only a dim understanding of how evolution works. In this talk, we will explore what evolution is, how it works, why it is misunderstood, and why it is important to understand. As we will see, an appreciation of evolution can be critical in our everyday lives.
 
• February 3, 11:00 a.m.

Kate Lovelady, Leader of Ethical Society of St. Louis
Topic: Ethical Sex
Platform Overview: America has a difficult relationship with sex. On the one hand, sexualized images are everywhere and are an important fuel for our desire-based economy; more-conservative countries complain that our images and attitudes are corrupting their cultures. On the other hand, many politicians, preachers, and educators build careers on trying to convince Americans--particularly American youth--to re-embrace our Puritan past; more liberal countries find our sexual attitudes and policies to be unscientific and even dangerous.

Personally and as citizens, we all make decisions about sex: who should have it, when, how, with whom, under what circumstances. Ethical decisions need to be conscious and informed; therefore we need to start with some fundamental questions: What is sex for? What is "good" and "bad" sex in an ethical sense? Where do people's assumptions about sex come from? To what extent is the issue of sex in America not really about sex at all, but about other things: power; idealizations of childhood; assumptions about women's and men's roles, about sexuality and orientation, about families? What are the hidden beliefs and agendas behind much of today's "sexuality police"?

"When authorities warn you of the sinfulness of sex, there is an important lesson to be learned. Do not have sex with the authorities." - Matt Groening
 

• January 20, 11:00 a.m.

Jan Broughton, President, NC Society for Ethical Culture
Topic: Annual Meeting of Members
 
• January 13, 11:00 a.m.

Ed Brown, PhD Chemistry
Topic: Drug Laws

  January 6, 11:00 a.m. Topic: Installation of Randy Best as Leader of the North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture

 

2007 Speakers

• December 16, 11:00 a.m.
Topic: A Winter Solstice Celebration

 
• December 2, 11:00 a.m.
Topic: Ethical Action Projects at NCSEC

 
• November 18, 11:00 a.m.
Topic: A Stone Soup Thanksgiving Celebration

 
• November 4, 11:00 a.m.

Gary Drinkard
Topic: Innocent on Death Row

Platform Overview: Gary Drinkard was sentenced to death in 1995 in Alabama, but his conviction was overturned by the Alabama Supreme Court in 2000. A team of lawyers and investigators from Alabama and the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta spent hundreds of hours preparing for the case and were able to prove that Drinkard was at home at the time the crime was committed. Mr. Drinkard tells his story.
 
• October 21, 11:00 a.m.

Jan Broughton, President of NCSEC
Topic: Fall Membership Meeting

 
• October 7, 11:00 a.m.

Randy Best, Ethical Culture Leader
Topic: Forgiveness

 
• September 16, 11:00 a.m.

Kathleen Thompson, Chapel Hill Public Library Director
Topic: Challenges to Materials in the Public Library: A Local Perspective

 
• September 2, 11:00 a.m.


Topic: Two Medical Readers' Theater Productions: Scenes adapted from Richard Seltzer, "Follow Your Heart," and Katherine Anne Porter, "He."
Platform Overview: Performed by members of the NCSEC. Both scenes deal with issues of medical ethics.
 
• August 19, 11:00 a.m.

Jane Kaman, M. Ed., Retired Educator
Topic: China's One Child Policy - A Photo Essay
Platform Overview: Ms. Kaman, a national board certified teacher, will discuss how China's one child policy is affecting the educational system and show photos of her recent trip to China as part of a cultural and educational exchange program sponsored by People to People.
 
• August 12, 11:00 a.m.

Topic: 'The Final Hour'
Platform Overview: This is the third of a 3 part BBC film series called 'A Brief History of Disbelief'. In this series Jonathan Miller methodically and dispassionately delves into the history of the lack of supernatural belief. Each segment is about an hour. A brief discussion will follow this showing.

 
• August 5, 11:00 a.m.

Laura Wendell, One World Market
Topic: Fair Trade

 
• July 22, 11:00 a.m.

Topic: 'Noughts and Crosses'
Platform Overview: This is the second of a 3 part BBC film series called 'A Brief History of Disbelief'. In this series Jonathan Miller methodically and dispassionately delves into the history of the lack of supernatural belief. Each segment is about an hour. A brief discussion will follow this showing.

 
• July 15, 11:00 a.m.

Topic: 'Shadows of Doubt'
Platform Overview: This is the first of a 3 part BBC film series called 'A Brief History of Disbelief'. In this series Jonathan Miller methodically and dispassionately delves into the history of the lack of supernatural belief. Each segment is about an hour. A brief discussion will follow this showing.

 
• July 1, 11:00 a.m.

Jan Broughton, Nancy Applegate
Topic: Report on the American Ethical Union 2007 Assembly

 
• June 17, 11:00 a.m.

Catherine Frank, Director of Osher Life Long Learning Institute at Duke University
Topic: Life Long Learning

 
• June 3, 11:00 a.m.

Dr. Douglas MacLeanUNC Dept of Philosophy
Topic: Does the Military Take Ethics Seriously? Yes and No.

 
• May 20, 11:00 a.m.

Jerry Burke, West Triangle Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA
Topic: US and UN - A Delicate Balance

 
• May 6, 11:00 a.m.

Jennifer Rudinger, North Carolina Division of the American Civil Liberties Union
Topic: Civil Liberties in North Carolina

 
• April 15, 11:00 a.m.

Dr. J. R. Kerr-Ritchie, Assistant Professor of History, Howard University
Topic: The Abolition of the British Slave Trade, 1807-2007
Platform Overview: In 1807, the British government abolished the lucrative slave trade. Why did they do so? What were the consequences? How should the event be commemorated two centuries later? In the Question and Answer session which follows, we will discuss the ethical dimensions of slavery and abolition and the implications for the modern world. Dr. Kerr-Ritchie is a noted scholar on slavery and emancipation who teaches at Howard University.
 
• April 1, 11:00 a.m.

Chris Moran, Executive Director, The Interfaith Council for Social Service
Topic: Poverty and Homelessness

 
• March 18, 11:00 a.m.

Joe Cole, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Guilford College
Topic: The War in Iraq: Just Cause or Immoral War?
Platform Overview: Dr. Cole will discuss the principles of Just War Theory and examine ethical arguments for and against the War in Iraq. The talk will also explore how citizens might respond to the War in Iraq and create alternatives to future wars.
 
• March 4, 11:00 a.m.

Jan Broughton, President, North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
Topic: Ethics for Everyone
Platform Overview: Ms. Broughton will present the book "Ethics for Everyone" which was written by Authur Dobrin, former leader of the Long Island Society for Ethical Culture. She will then lead an exploration of an ethical problem using Dobrin's technique.
 
• February 18, 11:00 a.m.

Jon Wilner, Executive Director, The ArtsCenter
Topic:The ArtsCenter

 
• February 4, 11:00 a.m.

Josh Glasser, Field Coordinator, NC Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform and Common Cause North Carolina
Topic:Ethics in Government: Why it matters, what is left to be done, and what citizens can do about it.
Platform Overview: Mr Glasser will begin by talking about the accomplishments of the Coalition vis-a-vis lobbying reform in 2006, and why it was important. He will then discuss what reforms remain left undone, and the spectre of big money in politics that continues to hang over the entire political process. He will close by sharing what concerned citizens can do to promote a more ethical political process in our state.
 
• January 22, 11:00 a.m.

Amy Piersma, President, NC Society for Ethical Culture
Topic: Annual Meeting of Members
 
• January 7, 11:00 a.m.

Juanita Johnson
Topic: Ethical Wills

 

2006 Speakers

2004 Speakers

• December 19, 11:00 a.m.

Richard Wark
Topic: A Winter Solstice Celebration
 
• December 5, 11:00 a.m.

Angela Kraus
Topic: The Goddesses Revisited: What If?
Platform Overview: This platform will revisit a number of goddesses who have been dismissed from our collective consciousness and ponder the ethical implications of the adoption of monotheism on the human race. It will attempt to connect this history to present-day political culture in the U.S., and will include the art work of Susan Seddon Boulet and Kris Waldherr, as well as songs by various female artists.
 
• November 21, 11:00 a.m.

Randy Best, Ethical Culture Leader
Topic: A Stone Soup Thanksgiving Celebration

 
• November 7, 11:00 a.m.

Jan Broughton, President of NCSEC
Topic: Fall Membership Meeting

 
• October 17, 11:00 a.m.

Norris Brock Johnson, Professor of Anthropology at UNC Chapel Hill
Topic: Nature as Virtue; The Virtue of Nature
Platform Overview: What can the study of Zen Buddhist gardens and temple architecture tell us about including nature in the discussions of virtue? Features of nature for many Zen Buddhists are considered manifestations of Buddha-Mind: the state of being experienced by Siddharta Gautama, the historical Buddha. Through the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold Path, Buddhism is concerned with the suffering of all beings. Therefore, what is to be said concerning the suffering we perceive in nature, such as the suffering of an animal, an aspect of Buddha Mind, being eaten by another animal, an aspect of Buddha Mind? Illusion (Maya)? Seeing this, how can we then choose to "follow nature?" How then, can nature be considered virtuous?
 
• October 3, 11:00 a.m.

Enid Handler
Topic: An Odyssey: From Left to Right Wing - THE NEOCONS

Platform Overview: The speaker will trace the origins of the neo-conservative movement from its founding group of leftist intellectual thinkers in the 1960's. "I will briefly outline the three 'pillars' of the movement - economic, cultural and political - and enumerate the major magazines, think tanks and institutes promulgating their views today."
 

• September 19, 11:00 a.m.

Polly Weiss
Topic: Bisexuality: Myths and Legends

Platform Overview: Unreliable, unable to make a commitment, greedy and oversexed. What to do with Bisexuals? Shunned by the gay community for sexing it up with partners of the opposite sex; dismissed by the straight world for loving same-sex partners, bisexuals have walked a sometimes solitary and often misunderstood path for many centuries... and yet by refusing to choose homosexual or heterosexual, many bi people have found joy in the freedom that exists when passion and possibility abound.
 

• September 5, 11:00 a.m.

James Coley & Paul Nagy
Topic: Virtues: East and West
Platform Overview: How can the contemplation and discussion of virtues help us better understand ethics, and become better people? We will explore these questions through an examination of virtues from both Eastern and Western perspectives, including the six paramitas of Mahayana Buddhism, and the Golden Mean of Aristotle.
 
• August 29, 11:00 a.m.

James Coley, Ruth Kravitz, Amy Piersma, Graduates, Lay Leadership Summer School 2004
Topic: Report on Lay Leadership Summer School


 

• August 15, 11:00 a.m.

Fritz Williams, Ethical Culture Leader, Baltimore Ethical Society
Topic: Everyday Courage
Platform Overview:The stories of human courage we read in newspapers or experience in film and television documentaries are hard for us to relate to. They involve feats of death-defying bravery that make the rest of us look and feel like cowards. Yet, very ordinary human beings often show real courage in coping with the day-to-day challenges of life. Fritz Williams, Leader of the Baltimore Ethical Society, explores what he understands about courage and what continues to puzzle him.
 
• August 1, 11:00 a.m.

Andy Blackburn
Topic: The Ethics of Happiness: The Happiness of Ethics
Platform Overview:
Is it better to be smart or happy? How Ethical Culture and lots of water saved my life! A look at depression from a psychological, physiological and philosophical perspective.
 
• July 18, 11:00 a.m.

Randy Best, Ethical Culture Leader-in-Training,
Topic: Ethics as Spiritual Practice
Platform Overview:
I simply cannot understand how somebody can be a spiritual being and not be actively involved in transforming the world.
- Rabbi Michael Lerner.
The ability to have transcendent experience is part of our human nature - but do such peak experiences inform our ethical outlook? Do these spiritual experiences lead us to act in the world? The Buddhist tradition of the Bodhisattva illustrates one connection between spiritual experience and ethical action. What other factors in our lives inspire ethical action? Many traditional religions view people as sinful and bad - requiring redemption. Some psychodynamic theories view life as a series of frustrations and trauma - requiring resolution and integration. I propose an alternative model where we act out of wholeness, joy, and our connections to each other. Our experience of life can heighten our sense of connection to others and inspire ethical relations and ethical action. In this way ethics becomes a spiritual practice.

 
• July 4, 11:00 a.m.

Tim Marr, Assistant Professor in American Studies at UNC
Topic: The Declaration of Interdependence
Platform Overview: What should be the role of America in establishing a more just international order? This platform will examine that question in terms of the teachings of the Baha'i Faith. The speaker will explore a genealogy of traditions within the historical experience of the United States that would suggest an alternative mode of world leadership.
 
• June 20, 11:00 a.m.

Lou Lipsitz, Poet
Topic: Fatherhood as Seen from the Perspective of "Men's Work"
Platform Overview: How can we understand the value of men and fathers in the midst of ongoing changes in gender relationships? Lou Lipsitz has published three books of poetry and has been active in the men's movement for 15 years. He was for many years a professor of political science at UNC Chapel Hill. Lou is currently on the Leadership Council of the Raleigh Men's Center. Lou will read poetry as part of the presentation.
 
• June 6, 11:00 a.m.

Ron Bell, M.A. Psychology
Topic: Our Beloved Sons, Genocide-Ready
Platform Overview: Ron Bell served in the National Guard, Marine Corps, and the Army for a total of eleven years. Looking back at the twentieth century, the claim that we have an inborn aversion to killing humans seems preposterous. In a mere thirty years, military trainers applying psychological techniques made hundreds of thousands of our boys kill-ready, if only temporarily. The platform will look at America's accelerated militarization and its inexorable result in a pre-emptive war. Americans like to see themselves as peaceful, yet we have put up very little resistance to the over 265 military operations launched by our government during the last fifty years.
 
• May 16, 11:00 a.m.

Ethics School Children & Loretta Gilson, local storyteller
Topic: Learning Ethics from Stories
Platform Overview: Loretta Gilson, a local storyteller, and the Ethics School Children will provide everyone a chance to experience the fun and learning experience of using stories to delve into making ethical choices. Chris Kaman, Co-Coordinator of the Ethics School, will preside.
 
• May 2, 11:00 a.m.

Jan Broughton , President, N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
Topic: Founder's Day and Membership Meeting
Platform Overview: We will be celebrating our organization's 17th birthday via relfection and music. We will also be holding a special meeting for our membership regarding the potential hiring of a part time leader. Friends and visitors are welcome to attend.
Note: There will be a musical performance by JEWELSONG during our Founder's Day celebration.
 
• April 18, 11:00 a.m.

Helen E. Dannatt , Personal Growth and Team-Building Facilitator
Topic: The Liberating Amend and How To Make One
Platform Overview: Do you have difficult people in your life? Are you occasionally a difficult person yourself? Do you sometimes find it difficult to release memories of old hurts? Learn a technique to repair your relationship with others and with yourself.
 
• April 4, 11:00 a.m.

Richard I. Wark, Ph.D. (Kraw), Adjunct Professor, University of Maryland-European Division
Topic: Ethic Implications of the Volunteer Military: Who Dies for Their Country?
Platform Overview: At a time when the United States is involved in at least two active wars, it is especially important to think about how the people who actually do the fighting end up on the battlefield. Do people enlist because they are really volunteers or because their economic and social situation tends to make it the best available alternative? How ethical are the recruiting strategies used by the military? To what extent does having a volunteer military impact political decision-making? Does it make it easier for a president to lead the nation to war? Does it make protest both inside and outside the military less likely?
 
• March 21, 11:00 a.m.

Kate Lovelady, American Ethical Union Leader-in-Training
Topic: Ethics: The Next Generation
Platform Overview: Will the next generation of young people be more ethical than the current generation? Is America in a state of moral decline, or will the next generation truly learn from today's moral lapses? Ms. Lovelady will cover some current trends in ethics among the younger set, as well as shed light on some about research on what makes people ethical and how we can teach ethics.
 
• March 7, 11:00 a.m.

Rev. Audrey Addison-Williams, Director of Authentic Life Ministries Program
Topic: Women and Power
 
• February 15, 11:00 a.m.

Chris Saade, Director of The Intentional LIving Institute, Inc.
Topic: Fear and Dialogue
Platform Overview: There is oppression and there is a violent reaction to oppression. An old and well known cycle of violence (emotional or physical, or both). And there is a third way says Gandhi -- the path of dialogue. However, dialogue, which is an invitation to the other to speak to us, is also a path that can trigger a great deal of fear in us. The fear of the 'others' and what they would say. The fear of the change in us that would evolve from dialogue. The fear of saying what we forbid ourselves to say. And the fear of treading into new uncharted territories! Fear often paralyzes us into a silence of withdrawal, a silence of the unsaid, a silence of walking away from dialogue. This is a silence that freezes individuals and nations, when as Elie Weisel says, the time demands that the word be exchanged between us and not be hindered- not only for our own good but also for all those that cannot speak. Dialogue is an affirmation of the humanity of all those involved. Dialogue is healing and transformative. Dialogue is a reinvention of relationships and of the world. It is a heroic path, a statement of care and of courage.
 
• February 1, 11:00 a.m.

Lois Alpern, President Triangle Congregation for Humanistic Judiasm
Topic: Is Secular Humanistic Judaism a Religion?
 
• January 18, 11:00 a.m.

Jan Broughton, President, NC Society for Ethical Culture
Topic: Annual Meeting of Members
 
• January 4, 11:00 a.m.

Enid Handler, Health & Human Services Consultant
Topic: Reaping the Rewards of Ethical Parenting: A Mom's Story
 

2003 Speakers

• December 28, 11:00 a.m.

Members & Friends of North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
Topic: A Winter Solstice Celebration
 
• December 14, 11:00 a.m.

Paul Nagy, Editor of Wordtrade
Topic: Jalaladdin Rumi: Poet of Universal Love
Read Rumi's Poetry
Platform Overview:December 17th marks the 730th anniversary of the death of Jalaladdin Muhammad Din ar-Rumi (1207-73), the Persian mystic and poet. As many may well be aware, mainly through the liberal translations of Coleman Barks, an alumni of UNC, RumiÕs poetry has been for over a decade the most popular poetry in America, by far out selling any contemporary poet. Paul Nagy will tell you RumiÕs story. Where he came from, how he lived and what inspired him to become not just a great poet of his time but also a universal poet and mystic for all time. The story has drama, passion, humor, and stunning language. Interspersed with the story will be tales Rumi told with passages of his poetry. Paul will also tell of his pilgrimage 23 years ago to Konya in Turkey where Rumi is buried and is still today the home of the Sufi dervish order founded by his descendants.
 
• November 23, 11:00 a.m.

Jan Broughton & Richard Kraw
Topic:A Stone Soup Thanksgiving Celebration

 
• November 9, 11:00 a.m.

Jan Broughton, President of NCSEC
Topic: Fall Membership Meeting

 
• October 26, 11:00 a.m.

Tito Craig, President of American Friends of The College Cevenol, Inc.
Topic: Le College Cevenol: A School for Peace in the Jaws of War
Platform Overview:In 1938, two Huguenot pastors decided that a village in rural France should offer precisely what war threatened to destroy: a school with a mission to promote international understanding. Risking their lives, the teachers and nearby townspeople offered safe haven to French children and hundreds of refugees - Jews, Spaniards, and others. By the end of WWII twelve small villages in the Cevennes mountains rescued 5,000 refugees in what is the largest communal sheltering of refugees in Europe. Mr. Craig attended this school, Le College Cevenol, when he was a teenager and he is now the president of the American foundation that funds refugee scholarships. The school continues to be a unique beacon of hope. I think the school's history raises questions for us in the USA about risking, helping, suffering and loving. We will discuss the school and its meaning on Oct. 26th.
 
• October 12, 11:00 a.m.

Mark Kleinschmidt, Attorney, Center for Death Penalty Litigation
Topic: When Bias Equals Death Row: The Case of Eddie Hartman
Look here for more information on this case.
 
• September 28, 11:00 a.m.

Pat Callair, M.S.W., Director of The Leadership and Empowerment Institute, Inc.
Topic: How To Be A Successful Racist
Platform Overview: In times of great distress and confusion, I have heard many ask. What is expected of us, if we are to avoid the scourge of racism? Additionally, given racismÕs extraordinary ability to survive and thrive, particularly, in a society founded on the principles of equality and justice; I believe it is essential that we understand what keeps racism alive and well. I offer what I am calling the Twenty Commandments of Successful Racism; as someone who has seen and experienced the astounding proliferation of racism in America. My intent is not to blame or criticize; but rather to invite you to compare and contrast your own behavior as you struggle with the existential question. Who Am I?
 
• September 14, 11:00 a.m.

Chantelle Fisher-Borne, MPH, Social Justice Activist
Topic: Acts of Love, Bravery and Justice: A Queer Perspective on Same-Sex Marriage

 
• August 24, 11:00 a.m.

Polly Weiss
Topic: Unmasking Whiteness: White Racial Identity
Platform Overview:
If Whites are to take responsibility for ending White racism in our culture, and in the world, we need to begin by examining our own relationship to being White. Developing a strong White identity in a society which is socially ambivalent or silent about "White culture," runs the risk of seeming racist or reifying the White race, as opposed to seeking to better understand our place in society's racial discourse. Given the shame and guilt most Whites experience during conversations about racism or slavery, how can we expect Whites to embrace their Whiteness, and build upon it a matrix of cultural values that incorporate social justice and racial harmony?
 
• August 10, 11:00 a.m.
  Chuck Stone, Walter Spearman Professor of Journalism, UNC Chapel Hill
  Topic: "The State of Ethics in America, 2003: Would Socrates be a Statesman Today or a Marginalized Dissident?"
   
• July 27

Martin Jacobs, Interfaith Alliance of Wake County
Topic: "A Toolkit for Ethical Living"
Platform Overview:
Common sense tells us that the major goals of every individual and every country should include resolving conflicts without violence and achieving Peace, Harmony, Love, and Joy for all. Why isn‰Ûªt this today‰Ûªs reality? Martin Jacobs, V.P. of The Interfaith Alliance of Wake County, will address this and more as he introduces and explains The Ethical Framework, the organization‰Ûªs recent publication. It is a unique compilation of simple and easy to understand, widely known ethical and moral principles. Designed to be supportive and complementary to both secular and religious cultures, it is aimed towards developing a way of life that brings out the best in everyone. This Framework can become the common bond around which all people come together, transcending political, religious, racial, economic, and other differences.
 
• July 13

Sol Gordon, Psychologist, Humanist Consultant
Topic: "Why Young People at Risk Aren't Listening to Us"
 
• June 22

John Morlino, Founder of The ETHIC (The Essence of True Humanity Is Compassion)
Topic: "Peace Through Unconditional Compassion"
 
• June 8

James Coley, Philosopher & Activist
Topic: "What is Liberalism?"
 
• May 25

Ron Bell
Topic: "Spiraling Dynamically: Ethics in the Future of Evolution"
 
• May 11

Anoushka Brod, Transactors Improv Co.
Topic: "Teaching Emotional Intelligence via Improvisational Acting"
(This will involve a demonstration of the activities in the Ethics for Children Program, as well as participation of the audience in those activities. )
 
• April 27

Kate Lovelady, Poet Laureate of Carrboro
Topic: "Cherry Blossoms in the Fog: The Affirming Flames of Poetry"
 
• April 13

Mark Ginsberg Executive Director, NC Sustainable Energy Association
Topic: "Breathing Easier: Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Ð Opportunities & Personal Choices"
 
• March 23

Claudia Horwitz
Topic: "The Spiritual Activist"
For more info see www.stonecircles.org
 
• March 9

Stav Adivi
Israeli Defense Force
Topic: "My Refusal to Serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip"
For some background info: http://www.seruv.org.il/defaulteng.asp
 
• February 23

Douglas MacLean, Professor of Philosophy
UNC-Chapel Hill
Topic: "Responses to Terrorism: Punishment, Retaliation and Revenge"
 
• February 9

Lenore Yarger,
Silk Hope Catholic Worker
Topic:  "The Many Faces of Iraq"
(Ms. Yarger recently traveled to Iraq to find out more about the country and its people.)
 
• January 26

Randy Best, President, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Annual Meeting of Members"
 
• January 12

Kate Lovelady, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Standing on the Table: Leadership in Everyday Life."
NEW!  Read the text for Kate's talk here.
 

2002 Speakers

• December 22

Randy Best, President, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"A Winter Solstice Celebration"
• December 8

Chris Saade, Director of
The Intentional LIving Institute, Inc.
"Conflict Resolution Through Intentional Dialogue: The Integra Method"
• November 24

Randy Best, President, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Stone Soup - A Thanksgiving Celebration"
• November 10

Bob Berson, Leader of the Ethical Society of Northern Westchester
"Sources of Strength in Times of Trouble"
• October 27

Randy Best, President, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Membership Meeting - Evaluating Our Effectiveness"
• October 13

John Schelp, Community Activist
"Empowering Citizens to Fight and Win"
• September 22

David Mills, Research Director,
Common Sense Foundation
"Why A State Lottery Is Wrong"
• September 8

Randy Best, President, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Empathy"
• August 25

Audrey Williams,Coordinator of Phoenix House
"Healing the Soul of America"
• August 11

Paul Nagy, Editor of Wordtrade
"Spiritual Resources for a Future of Hope"
• July 28

Prof. Robert Adler, Prof. of Management, Kenan-Flagler Business School
"Business Ethics"
• July 14

Michelle Cotton, Co-Chair of Chapel Hill N.A.A.C.P.
"Advancing the Mission of the N.A.A.C.P"
• June 23

Dr. Snezana Cvejin, M.D., Psychiatrist
"Creating a Sane Society Through Dialogue"
• June 9

Randy Best, President, Leader-in-Training,
Kate Lovelady, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Spirituality without God"
• May 26

Anoushka Brod, Nancy Pekar, Transactors Improv Company
"Learning Ethics Through Improvisational Acting"
• May 12

Kate Lovelady, Leader In Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Citizen Mom: An Appreciation"
• April 28

Lenora Ucko, Director of StoriesWork
"Confronting Domestic Abuse Through Folk Stories"
• April 14

Susan Teshu, Ethical Culture Leader
"Ethics and End of Life Issues"
• March 24

Sardar Singh, Advocate of Philosopher - J. Krishnamurti
"Intelligent Action For A Sane World"
• March 10

Randy Best, President, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Rules for Living"
• February 24

A. Jonathan Shaw, Doctor of Biology, Duke University
"Why We Should Celebrate 'Darwin Day'"
• February 10

Robert M. Price, Doctor of Philosophy, New Testament at Drew University
"Deconstructing Jesus"
• January 27

Annual Meeting of Members of NC Society for Ethical Culture
• January 13

Alicia Lucksted, Coordinator of US Supporters Network for the
Revolutionary Afghan Women's Association (RAWA)
"RAWA's Struggle for Women in Afghanistan"

2001 Speakers

• December 23

Randy Best, President, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"A Winter Solstice Celebration"
• December 9

James Coley, Philosopher & Activist
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"God in Kubrick's '2001 - A Space Odyssey'"
• November 26

Kate Lovelady, Social Activist, Leader-in-Training,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Stone Soup - an Ethical Culture Thanksgiving"
• November 11

Malinda Maynor, Co-Director, In The Light of Reverence
"In The Light of Reverence - Cultural & Ethical Conflicts in the Pursuit of Native American Religion"
• October 28

James Coley, Philosopher & Activist
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"Patriotism'"
• October 14

Prof. Sarah Shields, Ph.D. History at UNC Chapel Hill
"Understanding Islamic Civilization"
• September 23

Katharine Leslie, Ph.D., Child Psychology
"What Children Really Need"
• September 9

Jay Rosenberg, Ph.D., Taylor Grandy Professor of Philosophy, UNC Chapel Hill,
(see also More About Jay Rosenberg)
"The Concept of Death"
• August 26

Peter Metzner, Facilitator, The Leadership Trust
"Understanding Emotional Intelligence - An Ethical Necessity"
• August 12

Daniel Nelson, , Ph.D., Professor of Social Medicine and Pediatrics
UNC Chapel Hill
"The Evolving Ethics of Research Involving Human Subjects: From Dachau to Tuskegee to Penn to Hopkins"
• July 22

Forrest Altman, Community Activist
"Bioregionalism: From a Dream to a Community Resource"
• July 8

Peter Metzner, Facilitator, The Leadership Trust
"Dreams as a Guide for Ethical Living"
• June 24

Pal Palmore, Humanist Celebrant
"Ageism and Ethical Culture"
• June 10

Randy Best, President, N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"Rewriting the Ten Commandments"
• May 27

Chris Kaman, Adjunct Leader, N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"Reflections of War in Our Lives"
• May 13

Randy Best, President, N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"Standing at the Moral Crossroads"
• April 22

Angela Kraus, Educator & Social Activist
"The Niitsitapi vs. The U.S. - Ethical Dilemmas"
• April 8

Kate Lovelady, Poet, Social Activist
"Walking Our Talk: Ethics in Action"
• March 25

Paul Nagy, M.Div, Editor, Worldtrade.com
"Talk: The Tao of Conversation"
• March 11

Enid Handler, Health & Human Services Consultant
"Welfare to Work: A Durham Experience"
• February 25

Chris Kaman, Adjunct Leader, NCSEC
"Happiness, Buddhism and Ethical Culture"
• February 11

Randy Best, Kate Lovelady & Chris Kaman
"A Time to Honor, and to Remember Those in Our Past"
• January 28

Annual Meeting of Members of NC Society for Ethical Culture
Presentation by Paper Hand Puppet Intervention
• January 14

Virginia Lee
"The Simplicity Movement"
(see Center for a New American Dream
and New River Earth Institute)

2000 Speakers

• December 24

Members & Friends of Society
"Winter Solstice Reflections"
• December 10

James Coley, Philosopher & Activist
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"The Meaning of Life: An Easy Question"
• November 26

Randy Best, President & Adjunct Leader,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Stone Soup - an Ethical Culture Thanksgiving"
• November 12

Kate Lovelady, Poet & Activist,
Olin Beall, Philosopher & Ethicist
"Reflections and Experiences from the Mountain"
(The Lay Leadership Summer School, an Ethical Culture Workshop)
• October 22

Tovah Wax , Ph. D., LCSW
Program Director, Deaf Service Unit, Dorothea Dix Hospital
"The Disability Ethos: Inclusion or Integration?"
(A sign language interpreter will be present on 22nd and 29th for discussion.)
• October 8

Tony Hileman, Executive Director,
"American Humanist Association"
"Are You A Humanist?"
• September 24

Dr. Paul Ortiz
Visiting Assistant Professor in History, Duke University
"Center for Documentary Studies"
"Culture, Work, and Ethics"
• September 10

Randy Best, President & Adjunct Leader,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"What I Learned from "Mr. Dog" - The Philosophy of Margret Wise Brown"
• August 27:

Curt Collier, Leader,
"Riverdale-Yonkers Society for Ethical Culture"
"Right Energizing - A Different Vision of Spirituality"
• August 13

Randy Best, President & Adjunct Leader,
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"My Wanderings in Ethical Humanism"
• July 23

Adam Searing, Project Director,
"North Carolina Health Access Coalition"
"Critical Issues for North Carolina in Health Access"
• July 9:

Elizabeth Ouzts, Campaign Director
"North Carolina Public Information & Research Group"
"Clean Air Now - Cleaning Up Polluting Power Plants"
• June 25:

William H. Bryan, President,
"Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Inc."
"My Perspectives on Farm Labor, the FLOC, and Mt. Olive Pickle"
• June 11:

Joe Herzenberg, retired historian,
Founding Board Member of Equality NC PAC
"Gay Rights: Where Are We Now?"
• May 28:

Kate Lovelady
Poet, Social Activist
"The Ethics of Globalism and Civil Disobedience: My Experiences in Washington, D.C."
• May 14:

Chris Kaman, Adjunct Leader
NC Society for Ethical Culture
"Celebrating Ethical Humanism"
• April 23:

James Peacock, PhD
Professor of Anthropology, UNC Chapel Hill
"Beyond Stones and Bones: An Anthropologist's View of Contemporary Issues"
• April 9:

Peter Walz
North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections
"Campaign Finance Reform from the Grassroots"
• March 26:

Jone Johnson Lewis
Leader, Northern Virginia Ethical Society
"Back to the Future: Why Do We Need Ethical Culture?"
• March 12:

Sandy Smith
Institute for Southern Studies
"Uprooting Injustice - The Story of Farmworkers in America"
• February 27:

Randy Best
President, NC Society for Ethical Culture
"The Utopian Visions of Frances Wright: 1795 - 1852"
• February 13:

Annual Meeting of Members - a business meeting for members and friends of NCSEC
• January 23:

Cancelled due to snow & ice storm.
• January 9:

Al McSurely
Lawyer, Civil Rights Adovcate
"The Ethical Choices of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."

1999 Speakers

• December 26:

No Platform Meeting Scheduled
• December 12:

Chris H. Kaman
President, N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"Where Do We Go From Here?"
• November 28:

"Ethical Thanksgiving"
Presented by members and friends of the North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
• November 14:

Fall Festival - a celebration by the students of our Ethics School
• October 24:

William G. Lycan, PhD
William Rand Kenan, Jr. Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina
"What is Freedom of the Will?"
• October 10:

Dr. Helen M. Hacker, PhD
The New School for Social Research
"Female Voices in the Hebrew Bible: Challenging Patriarchy"
• September 26:

Dr. James P. Evans, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine, University of North Carolina
"The Ethics of Human Cloning"
• September 12:

Chris Kaman
President, North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Raising Ethical Children"
• August 22:

Stephen Dear
Executive Director, People of Faith Against the Death Penalty
"Hope and the Death Penalty"
• August 8:

Enid Handler
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
A discussion of the book "In A Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development" by Carol Gilligan
• July 25:

Randy Best
Vice-President, N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"The Reconstruction of the Spiritual Ideal: Felix Adler and Beyond"
• July 11:

Chris Kaman
President, North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Perspectives on Kosovo" - A Group Discussion
• June 27:

Randy Best
Vice-President, N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"You Can't Say, 'You Can't Play.' - The Necessity of Inclusion."
• June 13:

Bart Worden
Leader, Ethical Culture Society of Westchester
"Forgiveness"
• May 23:

James Coley
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
"Life and Death"
• May 9:

Chris Kaman
President, North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Ethical Culture, Motherhood, and Apple Pie"
• April 25:

Kevin Kresse and Sandy Chapman
Human Rights Workers
"Human Rights and Democracy in Chiapas, Mexico"
• April 11:

Professor Bereket Selassie
Department of African & Afro-American Studies, University of North Carolina
"Constitution Making in Africa: Case Studies in Eritrea and Ethiopia"
• March 28:

August Turak
Founder, Self Knowledge Symposium
"Extreme Spirituality"
• March 14:

Don Johnson
Leader Emeritus, New York Society for Ethical Culture
"Foundations for Ethical Living"
• February 28:

Professor Bill Balthrop
Department of Communication Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill
"Rhetoric, Myth, and Culture as Influences on International Conflict"
• February 14:

Professor Jeffrey M. Elliot
Department of Political Science, North Carolina Central University
"The Politics of Conflict Resolution"
• January 10:

Enid Handler
Health & Human Services Consultant
"U.S. Healthcare: An Ethical Dilemma"

1998 Speakers

• December 27:

Holiday Celebration - A Mummer's Play
"St. George and the Dragon"
• December 13:

Randy Best
Vice-President of N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"A Values Clarification Exercise in Morality"
• November 22

Members and Friends of the North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"A Time for Thanksgiving"
• November 8:

Don Johnson
Leader Emeritus, New York Society for Ethical Culture
"Toward an Ethic of Compromise?"
Click here to listen to this platform (32 Minutes)
• October 25:

NCSEC Membership Meeting
(Meeting for society members & friends only.)
• October 11:

Vivian Plonsey
President, Womens International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
"Toward World Peace, Freedom, and Social Justice"
• September 27:

Dr. Rynn Berry
Author and Professor, the New School for Social Research
"Ethical Visions and the World's Religions"
• September 13:

Chris H. Kaman
President, N. C.Society for Ethical Culture
"Raising Ethical Children"
• August 23:

Dr. E. M. Adams
UNC Professor Emeritus of Philosophy
"An Economy Fit for Human Beings"
• August 9:

Randy Best
Vice President of N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"Winning: A Group Exercise"
• July 26:

Laurie Lynch, ND
Director of the Living Well Health Center
"Ethics and Alternative Medicine"
• July 12:

Catherine Lutz
Anthropology Professor, UNC
"What's Wrong with Human Nature Arguments for War"
• June 28:

Rania Masri
from the Global Movement to End the War Against Iraq
"Iraq Sanctions: The Dying Children"
(See Iraq Action Coalition for more information.)
• June 14:

Michael Peterson
Herald-Sun Columnist
"The Ethics of Outspoken Journalism - My Experience"
• May 24:

James Coley<
Visiting Lecturer at the UNC Philosophy Department
"Moral Dilemmas: A Secular Ethical System to Grapple With Difficult, Real-World Moral Conflict"
• May 10:

Bill Peck
"Ethical Considerations and Indigenous Guatemalan People"
• April 26:

Panel Discussion -
Enid Handler, moderator, Health & Human Services Consultant,
Martin Eakes, The Coalition for a Public Trust,
Rep. Joe Hackney, Orange County Legislator,
Tom Jacks, Deputy Commissioner, N.C. Insurance Department,
A Representative from Blue Cross/Blue Shield
"The Blue Cross-Blue Shield Conversion: What It Will Mean to the Citizens of N.C."
• April 12:

Olin Beall
Member of N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"An Ethic for the 21st Century: A Stand Against Absolutist Certainty and Relativistic Nihilism"
• March 22:

Arthur Dobrin
Leader, Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island
"Why I Am Not a Unitarian"
• March 8:

Alex Roland
Professor and Chair, Department of History, Duke University
"The Blessings of Nuclear Weapons."
• February 22:

Michael Steinberg
Investigative Journalist
"Nuclear Power: Is It Really Safe?"
• February 8:

William H. Chafe
Alice Mary Baldwin Distinguished Professor of History
and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Duke University
"Feminism and Civil Rights: A Comparative Approach to Social Change Movements in America."
• January 25:

Ralph Balzac
President, N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
Annual Meeting for Members and Friends of N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
• January 11:

Ron Scher
President, N.C. Division of United Nations Association
"The United Nations: Past Imperfect, Present Tense, Future Conditional"

1997 Speakers

• December 28:

Members and Friends of the Society
"A Seasonal Celebration"
• December 14:

James P. Coley
friend of N.C. Society for Ethical Culture
"Philosophical Paganism"
• November 23:

Joy McConnell
Director of Religious Education, American Ethical Union
"Ethical Culture: Still on the Religious Frontier"
• November 9:

General Membership Meeting
Open to Members and Friends of the Society
A Discussion of the Goals, and Plans for the Local Society
• October 26:

Raelee Estes
Director of Community Education for N.C. Prevent Child Abuse
"Child Abuse Prevention: Where We Stand in North Carolina."
• October 12:

Chris Kaman
Vice-President, North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Ethics in Action: What Society Members Are Doing"
• September 28:

William N. Dale
Ambassador U.S. Foreign Service (retired)
"U.S. Middle East Policy and Peace"
• Sept 14:

Ralph Balzac
President, North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Ethical Culture Basics"
• August 24:

Bill Bonsignore
President and Chairman of the Board of the Eastern N.C. School for the Deaf
"The Best Kept Secret in North Carolina: The Eastern N.C. School for the Deaf."
• August 10:

Stephen Best
Member of the St. Louis Ethical Society
"Essays on Free Thought"
• July 27:

Sherri Zann Rosenthal
Eno Commons
"The Co-Housing Alternative"
• July 13:

Yonat Shimron
Reporter for Raleigh News and Observer
"Contemporary Religions in North Carolina"
• June 22:

NC Society for Ethical Culture Members Forum
"Father's Day Reflections"
• June 8:

Tom Beason
Triangle Hospice
"The Ethical Implications of Hospice Care"
• May 25:

Chris Kaman
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Basic Issues in Ethical Culture: Then and Now"
• May 11:

Elizabeth Kiss
Director Duke University Kenan Ethics Program
"Can We Teach Ethics?"
• April 27:

AEU Conference Platform
American Ethical Union
Location of platform will be:
Brownestone Hotel
1707 Hillsborough Street
Raleigh, N.C.
- site of 1997 American Ethical Union Convention
• April 13:

Ina Evans
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Ten Year Anniversary of Ethical Culture in the Triangle"
• March 23:

Kirk Felsman
Sanford Institute for Public Policy
"Humanitarian Assistance in Africa: A Field Worker's Perspective"
• March 9:

Linda Belans
host of the Linda Belans' Show on WUNC
"Bringing Sanity and Heart to the Dying Process of a Loved One: One Woman's Story".
• February 23:

Carol Kirschenbaum, M.D.
"National Health Insurance, The Single Payer System"
• February 9:

Jim Warren
from the North Carolina Waste Reduction and Awareness Network (NC WARN)
"Incineration, Dioxins, and Radioactive Waste Disposal".
• January 26:

Ralph Balzac
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
Annual Business Meeting
• January 12:

Randy Best
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"The Ethics of Three-Strikes-You're-Out in the Criminal Justice System"

1996 Speakers

• December 22:

Members and Children of Ethics School
"A Seasonal Celebration"
• December 8:

Dilip Barman
"Animal Rights: A Brief Introduction"
• November 24:

Joan Preiss
Triangle Friends of the United Farm Workers
"The United Farm Workers Today".
• November 10:

Ralph Balzac
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
Business Meeting for NCSEC Members and Friends
• October 27:

Willian Van Alstyne
Professor of Constitutional Law, Duke University
"What Constitutes a Religion? - Court Rulings Defining Religion"
• October 13:

Susan Greenblatt
"An Update on El Salvador"
• September 22:

Ralph Balzac
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
Discussion: "Evolution and Ethics"
• September 8:

Chris Kaman
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Soccer Balls, Rugs, and Child Labor"
• August 25:

Ken Eill
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Jazz, the Music of Freedom"
• August 11:

Ray Ubinger
Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senate
"The Civil Civics of Libertarianism"
• July 28:

John Dubocq
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Launchpad for a Global Ethic"
• July 14:

Norm Gustaveson
"Environmental Ethics"
• June 23:

Farzin Barazandeh
"Central Concepts of Bahai Faith"
• June 9:

Howard Sherman
"Blasphemy: A Talk Not About Blasphemy, But Which Is Blasphemy"
• May 26:

Sarah Howe
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Why I Chose Home Schooling Over the Public Schools"
• May 12:

Enid Handler
North Carolina Society for Ethical Culture
"Mothers Day: An Integenerational Presentation"
• April 28:

Howard Radist
Emeritus Ethical Culture Leader
"Ethical Issues in the Healthcare Industry"
• April 14:

Howard Lee
"Challenges Facing Progressive Thinkers Toward The Year 2000"

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Last Modified: Sunday, April 13, 2008
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