By James V. Horrigan
Staff Writer
They might have come to the Scarborough Public Library last week to learn the sound of one hand clapping, but by the time their monthly meeting came to a close, the members of the Scarborough Philosopher’s Club had debated almost everything but the answer to the famous Zen koan.
Although they ended up batting around the subject of socialized medicine, when Librarian Katherine Morrison asked for suggestions on subjects they might discuss, retired physician Jon Malev tossed out the idea of the club itself, designed to be similar to South Portland’s Socrates Café, which was borne out of a grassroots organization called the Society for Philosophical Inquiry.
“How could one sell the idea of a philosophy club? How could you promote it? What could you say about it that would make it more appealing to the average person?” he said.
Betsy Kelley, who attends club meetings regularly with her husband, library trustee Jack Kelley, thought she knew.
“It needs some publicity. I don’t think people are as aware [of the club] as they were in the beginning,” she said.
Jack Kelley thought they should figure out how to make the idea of philosophy more appealing.
Morrison rolled her eyes and recounted the club’s rocky start last April.
“This is much different than our first meeting, when we had 25 or 30 people in the room,” she said.
Upon entering the library conference room where meetings are held, newcomers are handed a slip of paper listing four “Rules of Engagement.”
Credited to the South Portland club, the rules instruct members to respect and listen to each other, and not be afraid to speak up, since there are no right or wrong answers.
It was advice, unfortunately, that went unheeded when the club first began.
“I think it wasn’t quite what some people expected,” Betsy Kelley said.
Morrison described the first meeting as very stressful.
“I think that some things came up that made people say ‘no, I don’t want to be part of that,’” she said of that day’s topics, which included death, religion and nationalism.
“There were some people that were pretty contentious,” Betsy Kelley said, wondering out loud if her husband might have been one of them.
“Nobody knew what to expect. We advertised it but I wasn’t expecting a big turnout. Instead we had this huge room full of people. Nobody had the same idea of what it should be,” Morrison said.
“If you’ve got too many people, two or three are going to dominate and a lot of people don’t get a chance to contribute,” Malev said. He suggested that 10 or 12 participants at each meeting would be ideal.
Since that first meeting eight or nine people usually attend each session, Morrison said.
“But we do have some regulars, usually two or three men who will always show,” Betsy Kelley said.
And that might be part of the problem, too many men, not enough women. Once again, Betsy Kelley knows the answer why.
“I think some people, especially women, are threatened. Women tend to like book clubs a lot better,” she said.
Morrison agreed, but gently nudged the group back to socialized medicine, the subject they had agreed to debate.
Jon Malev questioned whether society was obliged to provide its members health care.
“Ought there to be some principles underlying our decisions as to which things government and society should guarantee to all its citizens?” he asked.
Jack Kelley said he thought the idea was more basic.
“What our government owes us gets into the argument of constitutional law,” he said.
The members spent the next hour tossing the question back-and-forth. A good deal of time was spent on the subject of the uninsured and whether some of the reported 40 percent of Americans without health insurance were doing so by choice, or self-insuring.
Along the way a wide number of sub-issues were debated, such as the impact that family violence and abusive relationships have on the health care system. There was talk of supply-and-demand and whether in some cases the government should step in and determine the specialty or expertise of individual doctors. Hillary Clinton’s failed attempt at reforming health care in the early ‘90s was also discussed, along with the need for tort reform and the fear some doctors have of being sued for malpractice.
The debate however was not without diversion. Subjects like the propriety of torture and the collapse of the Soviet Union were also discussed, along with the number of lawyers in Congress, the salary that should be paid to professional athletes, golden parachutes for failed corporate chieftains and the agenda, if any, of teacher’s unions.
There was even mention of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.
In the end, with so many topics being bandied about, was anything resolved?
The answer is yes, but not on the subject of socialized medicine.
What the members of the Scarborough Philosopher’s Club resolved was to meet again at 2 p.m. on Dec. 20, the third Thursday of the month.
All are invited; no reservations are required and there is no cost to attend.
For more information, contact Morrison, the adult services librarian, at 883-4723.