Bookclub session 12/9/99

Books and Resources

Minutes

(this time provided by Sonya)

Attendees

A very small turnout this time: Holger, Soyeba, Charlene, Paul S and Sonya.

Place

Holger's (and Soyeba's) Food: A wonderful assortment of cheese, salmon spread, pate, pumpernickel, crackers and grapes, all courtesy Holger (and Charlene)

The Discussion

It's very interesting how all of us seem to take away something different from the books that we read. The people who enjoyed the reading the most I think were Soyeba, Paul and Sonya. Charlene unfortunately couldn't finish the book, but it was one that I think she would have enjoyed. Holger had the most skeptical approach to the content i.e. reincarnation, the different "levels" that you can achieve by being recycled many times etc. But, I think he appreciated the perspective.

The highlight of our discussion however, was NOT reincarnation and the intricacies surrounding it. Before I try to summarize it, I should say that as we have more and more book club meetings, it is becoming increasingly apparent that we use the book as a springboard into a discussion that might not really be related. So in some cases, like in this one, we didn't really discuss the books. Anyway, the topic of conversation was Justice and its meaning in society. Paul S and Sonya were definitely on one side of the argument, against (surprise, surprise) Holger. I think Soyeba and Charlene could see both sides to some extent.

What is Justice? What is the purpose of a legal system? Is it to maintain law and order, or is it to dispense justice? Or is it there primarily for law and order, but also for giving people (society) the hope that justice can be served? What is true justice? Is that in our hands, or is it something that is not in our hands? Is it a form of revenge? Or is it a disciplinary action? Very interesting and thought provoking discussion.

That led to what our next book should be. The obvious choice was "Crime and Punishment" but since that's quite heavy, we also considered "The 13th Juror". Our minds somehow then wandered to learning more about things that we don't know about, and that led us to Scientology. Hmmmmm.....the evil book that starts with the word "D". Any guesses? Dianetics was something that we considered but then the group has issues with paying for this book and having the Church of Scientology benefit from that. Anyway, we're left with a feeling of wanting to read about cults and mind control. Dianetics is still in the running, along with "A Piece of Blue Sky" which is a critique of scientology.

[Note: Sonya's statement towards reading Dianetics: "I'm the most worried about behavioral modification"; what she later said about the book in an email remains to be unpublished in an effort to keep this site free for people of younger ages]

We haven't reached a decision yet. We need to take a vote.

We also need to decide on the time and place of the next meeting.

© Holger Antelmann 1997-2005
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