My name is Sid.
A couple of years ago I signed-up with your Yahoo Group
to get your postings to compare your group to ours to see
if we could do some things better to increase membership
and participation. It seems your group is nearly identical to
ours: about 45 members with eight to twelve regular attendees.

Our group is the Okemos Socrates Cafe in
Okemos, Michigan, near Lansing.
We meet in Schuller’s book store in the
Chapbook Cafe area on Mondays 7-8:30 PM.
Ordinary coffee is $1.96 a cup with free refills.

After reading a recent post of yours to your Yahoo Group I found
a comment about Social Darwinism and had a comment.
I frequently use the term myself. I hijacked the term and use it
according to the definition of it that I have given it for my purposes.
I’ll explain that below. I request your indulgence with this.

The below is from: http://thegrantdoctor.com/socrates_cafe_myth.html

“prodigl” wrote:
>>>
I’m not sure that the Genesis story is meant to be taken literally.
It’s a fiction told to tell a deeper truth, or at least raise a deeper
question, for example: What is humanity’s place in nature?

In this sense, Social Darwinism might be considered to be
a modern myth: Although Social Darwinism makes use of
scientific theory (Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural
selection), it is not itself science.

It takes some facts about the real world and uses them
metaphorically to conjure a myth about human nature
(‘survival of the fittest’ in society) as well as humanity’s
relationship to the natural world.
>>>

Sid writes: (That’s me).
My opinion of Social Darwinism is that it does not qualify as a myth.

As I understand it, Darwinists are trying to disassociate
themselves from the term “Social Darwinism.”

I believe the term as used today is meant to imply that what happens
to people in society (society: what people do), can be controlled by
powerful or influential persons at their will without regard to ethical or
moral considerations IF they want to do so. Said differently, absolute
power can corrupt absolutely and the powerless are unable to stop it.

Social Darwinism, as I use the term, only describes what happens.
Since nearly anyone today can readily observe what happens when
powerful persons have their way over others, the “Natural” (?) Selection-like
result is that the weak can and often do fail and die while the wielders
of this extraordinary leverage, whether good or evil, survive and thrive.

Since Will-directed-Intelligence controls the decisions made, in real-time,
that strips the label “myth” from Social Darwinism because myth tells stories
from the far distant past as if they were true, in lieu of any proof of their
veracity,
as object lessons for us today. Zeus is a myth, Bernie Madoff is not.

I do not consider those who with premeditation successfully employ
a method explained as Social Darwinism, as “fit.” In fact, to use power
to control and direct society without the constraints of ethical and moral
virtue to be the exact opposite: “quite unfit.”

I’m wondering if your members might consider this a kind of paradox?
The paradox being the large burden of persons restrained by a high ethic
and moral bearing trying to compete with those who can and do employ
any manner of leverage they have to win at any cost.

I don’t know anyone’s politics there, but this might be compared to the
relative perceived advantage of FOX media against the President in the
present day propaganda war. I’m not trying to excite an argument with
this, but I’ll take a chance.

This topic occupies a great deal of my thinking time as you might have guessed.

I thought the readers in your part of the country might like to read another
opinion on this topic.

I enjoyed the Summary of your discussion and the link to the complete
summary as well. Nice writing.

I don’t intend to chime-in with comments at every opportunity as this medium
is difficult and time consuming for me.

Thank you in advance for reading this.
It’s 4 AM here so if this rambles – sorry about that.

Fraternally………………..Sid
Okemos Socrates Cafe
Okemos, Michigan near MSU