SUNDAY JULY 12, 1-3 PM

OPEN FORUM
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM

 

 

 

 

 

Open Forum is back, and will be hosted by Freethinkers Sharon LaPlume and Frank Magnarelli. Six tables, six topics —choose the one you’d most like to discuss.  

Here are the topics:

1. MORE THAN TWO PARTIES: Would a multi-party system improve American democracy or destabilize it?

 

2. WHEN TO INTERVENE: When should a country use military force abroad?

 

3. EXTREME INEQUALITY: Does growing inequality threaten democratic society?

 

4. UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE: Is it a moral obligation or a policy gamble?

 

5. WHEN WORK DISAPPEARS: What do we owe workers displaced by technological change?

 

6. PUNISHMENT VS. REHABILITATION: What should incarceration be for?

 

Bring your thoughts and opinions. There is no right or wrong—just a sharing of ideas. 

See you there!

 

SUNDAY JULY 16, 6:30-8 PM
SOCRATES CAFE TZEDAKAH
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM

 

 

Freethinkers holds its next Socrates Café discussion around a single question: does it matter why we do good? The session centers on tzedakah (tzeh-dah-KAH), a Hebrew concept that frames helping others not as generosity but as moral obligation — done quietly, completely, and without any expectation of recognition. Using the remarkable true story of Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 children from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and told almost no one for fifty years, we’ll ask what his silence says about the difference between giving and needing to be seen giving.

   Socrates Cafes are held on the third Thursday of each month as an exercise in inquiry and civil discourse.  We will watch a video and use it as a beginning point for our discussion.  All freethinkers are welcome.

 

 

THURSDAY JULY 26, 1-3 PM
AI APOCALYPSE!
HOBBY BUILDING EVENTS ROOM

 

Remember HAL, the computer who took over the spacecraft in 2001: A Space Odyssey? We're 25 years past Kubrick's due date—and the scenarios are no longer science fiction.

Join Freethinker Roger Mack and his band of techies as they map the ways AI could go wrong—and what it means to be prepared, no matter which scenario unfolds.

    Just for information, an interesting courtroom novel about this issue is The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly, best selling author of the Lincoln Lawyer series. It’s about the pitfalls of artificial intelligence companions for teenagers, and well worth reading.

 

 

DOING GOOD FOR GOOD’S SAKE

 

Freethinkers Florida has been supporting two of our members, Debby Levy and Roland Campbell, in their work with Ocala’s homeless population, especially those living rough on the streets or in the forest. They, along with some other dedicated folks, provide a hot meal to anyone who needs it on Monday nights, rain or shine, outdoors in a space downtown which a business allows them to use. Donations of camping equipment, clothes and shoes, and unopened hygiene products and toiletries are most welcome for distribution, as well as towels and bedding which we are focusing on for the month of May. Please bring donations to any Sunday meeting or text/call Debby at 561-346-7401 or email DL72588@gmail.com if you have a significant amount of clothing or camping gear to arrange a pickup or meetup.

 

And thanks to Freethinker Karen Henkel-Reeves and Karen’s Mat Makers who continue to produce water resistant sleeping mats for the homeless which are crocheted from recycled grocery bags. While Karen has a large stock of bags, she could use help in cutting the bags into strips or crocheting the mats. Call her at 352-854-9954 (no text).

 

 

 

The Freethinkers Florida Club at On Top of the World meets twice a month in the Hobby Building Event Room for presentations, discussions, and social time. If you are coming from outside On Top of the World, please email  FreethinkersFlorida@gmail.com for information on entry through the gate.

 

 

 

LOOKING BACK AT JUNE

On June 14, we had 42 Freethinkers break into five small groups and brainstorm about what is next for our growing Freethought Community. We evaluated presentations, programs, social events and activities, and then discussed ideas for possible speakers and topics. Freethinker Roger Mack has compiled the data, and we will be publishing results in a special edition of our newsletter in the coming weeks. Thank you to all who participated. Our Donut Day was a success! We are especially grateful to Freethinker John Dziembowski who shared his magic coffee machine and special Ugandan gourmet coffee to go with the donuts.

And on June 28, Pacita Rudder, Executive Director of Wikimedia NYC, took us on an eyeopening behind the scenes tour of the world’s most referenced online resource, Wikipedia. With 130–200 million visits every day, Wikipedia is the largest and most-read reference work in human history: a free, multilingual encyclopedia featuring over 67 million articles in more than 300 languages, available to everyone at no cost.

 

 

 

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR JUNE: Though there were none in the suggestion box, we received dozens and dozens of ideas for consideration on Donut Day. Keep an eye out for our Special Edition newsletter on this topic. And if you have any other thoughts, we’d be glad to hear them. Email FreethinkersFlorida@gmail.com or write your ideas on a card at any Sunday meeting and deposit it in the suggestion box.he Suggestion Box for May:  1). Bring Merrill Shapiro back for an examination of religion in the U.S. Yes!  Merrill has agreed to visit with us again, and we will be working on a date and the topic.  2). Play a video and discuss the work of Dr. Herb Silverman, mathematician and secular activist, who is the author of Candidate Without A Prayer. Yes! We are working on this program. We learned that Dr. Silverman was a determined atheist: In 1990, a colleague pointed out that atheists were ineligible to hold public office in South Carolina. After an eight-year battle, Herb won a unanimous decision in the South Carolina Supreme Court, which struck down this religious test requirement.

 

 

 

LOOKING AHEAD TO AUGUST

 

 

GREAT AMERICAN ORATORS

 

AUGUST 9—Professor and Freethinker Glenn Cohen will present Great American Orators. Come join us as Glenn gives us a look at American history through the speeches of Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Teddy Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, and Dwight Eisenhower. Learn how a single speech can change the direction of the country.

 

BANNED AND WOKE BOOK CLUB

 

AUGUST 10—Our Banned & Woke Book Club’s selection for the August 10 meeting is Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. This brand new book already a New York Times Best Seller, is sure to rankle feathers. The authors’ source material features verbatim conversations of the powers that be, some of which apparently occurred in the White House Situation Room. Haberman and Swan are, of course, not naming their sources. While the hardcover is about $35, the kindle version is available for $16.99. This “woke” book will make for a very interesting book club discussion!

 

 

 

WILL THE REAL JESUS PLEASE (RISE?) STAND UP?

 

AUGUST 23—We will welcome Dr. Ron Cooper, Professor of Philosophy at the College of Central Florida. Dr. Cooper’s hobby is the study of theology and religious dogma from his atheist point of view. Join us for Jesus in Text and Context, Or Will the Real Jesus Please Stand (Rise?) Up? as we look at Christianity through the lens of reason.

 

 

 

The Freethinkers Florida Club at On Top of the World meets twice a month in the Hobby Building Event Room for presentations, discussions, and social time. If you are coming from outside On Top of the World, please email  FreethinkersFlorida@gmail.com for information on entry through the gate.