Some of the topics which are discussed on the platform of the Northern Virginia Ethical Society are controversial topics.  Unless otherwise specified, the opinions expressed are those of the speaker -- even when I, as Leader, am speaking.

Ethics, in the view of an Ethical Society, is not about a list of rules or commandments. It's about a process of thinking for ourselves, and developing that ability over our lifetimes.  How many of us feel exactly about all ethical issues at age 30 as we did at 20?  At age 40 as at age 30? and so on.  Ethics is a lifelong exploration, and not everyone will come to the same conclusions.

Why attend a platform where the speaker's views are unlike our own?  Because, if we're committed to growth and learning as part of ethics, it's an opportunity for our own growth.  We won't necessarily be persuaded by the speaker -- that's not the reason to attend, in any case.  We may find ourselves refining our own ideas in light of the counter-arguments.  We also may find ourselves shifting somewhat, or at least realizing that the "other side" may not be arguing on the basis that we thought they were.

One purpose of being in a community to develop ethical thinking is to see how others, with similar values, may come to different conclusions on the same issue, and to use that difference as a learning experience.

We have a response period not to engage in debate, but to encourage responses to the topic that come up for us -- to speak in "I" statements, even if a speaker has failed to do that, to express what is important for us when we hear what the speaker has said, to share our own resonances with the topic if not necessarily with the conclusions of the speaker.  We can express our own different ideas in that venue -- not as debate, not as an attack on the speaker, but simply as part of the community of ideas (and people) that is there that Sunday.

Thus, to avoid a platform meeting because we might disagree does a disservice to ourselves and to others, in being part of that community of learning -- and to have our own ideas be part of what others learn from.

If we're only to hang out with those who agree 100% with us, we'll cut off opportunities for our own growth and opportunities to influence the growth of others.

Yes, we have some common values in an ethical society -- the commitment to human worth and dignity of every person, the hope for and commitment to a more humane world, the longing to help be part of a world that has less suffering and more creativity and joy.  But how we get to those ideals is complicated, and I'm not the first to say that no one person or group or party or belief system has all the answers.

So I encourage you to come and listen openly, even if the platform topic seems to be in conflict with some of your own beliefs.  Listen for the values and dreams behind what the speaker is saying, and find some common ground there -- even if you may disagree with the solutions the speaker is proposing.  And then speak from your own values and dreams, in a way that respects the speaker and the rest of the community in the same way you want to be respected.

That's what an ethical community means: a place where, even with our differences, we have a common commitment to learn and grow into our ethical ideals.  It's not "a place where people tell us about the highest" that is "holy ground" for us -- it's "a place where people SEEK the highest."  Come, be seekers with us!