Adult Discussion Group
During this time of isolation and worry, Adult Discussion Groups provide an especially comforting way to maintain human contact and participate in respectful, intelligent discussions with our invited speakers, presenters, guests, and members of our congregation.
Upcoming Discussion Topics
Jan 10 - A Conversation with the Christian Right
Hosted by Lindi Kohn and Ron Masters
There is much talk about how we need to bridge the divide in our country, begin understanding one another, or just (and this may be a hopeless task) get the “other” to see the reality of our own perspective.
Whose responsibility is it to start the conversation? If we don’t do it, who will? Lindi, based on conversations and personal experiences with friends and family, will be roleplaying and delivering some messages that the “right” wish we, the left - “played” by Ron -, would just listen to and consider. Ron will guide us down the road of inquiry. Will it be a bumpy ride?
Peace, Love, Hope
“I could agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong.” - Harvey Specter (“suits” TV series 2019)
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” - Mark Twain (1835-1910)
Jan 17 – Martin Luther King’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail
Facilitated by Garna Christian
Considered “the most important written document of the Civil Rights Era,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s eloquent response to eight Alabama clergymen almost sixty years ago gained a national audience for his prescription for racial harmony, as valuable today as then. Garna will select a few key passages for our discussion. For more details, please refer to the following:
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/coretexts/_files/resources/texts/1963_MLK_Letter_Abridged.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letter_from_Birmingham_Jail
Jan 24 – What is it with all these “isms”? Socialism, Communism, Fascism, National Socialism, Democratic Socialism, Capitalism, and maybe Populism too
Presented by John Bobbitt
Lately, attempts at civilized discussion and political debate seem to quickly degenerate into one side accusing the other of something that ends in an “-ism”. Typically, while that signals the end of any possibility for intelligent communication, the specific “ism” employed is never clearly defined or understood. While there is no clear road map, we’ll discuss how we may begin to understand the vast array of “-isms” that are battered back and forth like a crazy badminton game between warring parties.
Jan 31 - Is the Future Predictable?
Presented by Dianne Reece
Peter Turchin, professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCONN, asserts that the US is “well on track for the 2020s instability peak.” Supporting his argument is a new transdisciplinary discipline that treats history as just another science. We’ll consider whether this is a science-based forecast, or a “prophecy.”
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