Bette Chambers

From Philosopedia

Bette Chambers (31 July 1930 - )

Elizabeth B. Chambers was born in Seattle, Washington. In 1949 she married Charles M. Chambers Jr., her husband for sixty years. They had met at the University of Washington, where he taught the lab section in introductory zoology. Her major was marine invertebrate zoology. The couple raised three daughters. He spent his career as a wildlife biologist with the U.S. government as they transferred about, living in Seattle; Eureka, and Sacramento, California; Minneapolis; Portland, Oregon; and Spokane, Washington before moving to their current home in Lacey, Washington. They have three grandsons.

In 1961, Chambers joined the American Humanist Association (AHA) at the invitation of Edwin H. Wilson. From 1961 to 1964, she served as president of the Humanist Chapter of Minnesota. In 1966, she was appointed a third vice president of the American Humanist Association. From 1966 to 1973, she was President of the Humanist Society of Spokane, Washington.

When the bylaws changed in 1969, she was elected to the AHA’s board of directors by membership-wide vote. She ran for the post of president in 1972, taking office in 1973 and serving four consecutive two-year terms.

Chambers was the second woman AHA president, following Vashti McCollum. She was followed later by Suzanne Paul - these have been the only three women to hold the office.

In 1973, Chambers was a signer of Humanist Manifesto II. In 2003, she signed Humanist Manifesto III.

Chambers reached term limits on the AHA board in 1981. During her terms as president, she was a co-founder in 1976 of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) and helped raise the initial funds for The Skeptical Inquirer. From the mid-1970s until 2006, she was President of the Humanist Society of South Puget Sound.

During all of her adult life Chambers has been interested in “creationism” and has lectured widely against it as being a threat to science education in United States public schools. Up to 1983, she made several nation-wide tours lecturing on Humanism and the threat of creationism.

In 1981, she served briefly as AHA’s executive director, being replaced by Fred Edwords in 1984. She regards her decision to hire Edwords in 1981 as "the best choice of employee I ever made, and as the finest spokesperson for Humanism today."

From 1984 until her retirement in 2004 Bette served as the AHA’s director of planned giving. For most of 20 years, Chambers was editor of the AHA’s membership newsletter Free Mind.

When Isaac Asimov became president of the AHA in 1984, Chambers served as his “assistant to the president” to handle routine matters and write fund-appeals, freeing him from board meetings and other duties to pursue his writing career. When Isaac died in 1992, she remarked that hers had been the best job anyone could hope to have had, but one that ended all too soon and on such a sad note.

Over the years, Chambers served as chairperson or a member of various committees of the AHA, including Annual Awards, Resolutions, Brochures, and Bylaws. Since 1966 she has been a member of the editorial advisory board of The Humanist.

During the 1990s, Chambers served on the board and later as president of the AHA’s adjunct, The Humanist Society of Friends (now the Humanist Society), which certifies qualified members to serve as Humanist “clergy,” all of whom enjoy the full range of legal rights and responsibilities applied to ordained clergy from traditional religious groups. Currently, she is a member of the group’s executive council.

In 1991, she became a graduate of the Humanist Institute. Chambers has received several awards from the AHA, including the Humanist Pioneer Award; also, she has received honors from the Humanist Foundation, the AHA’s endowment fund.

Her related interests include a long-time membership in the American Civil Liberties Union, the Bertrand Russell Society, the Democratic Party, assorted environmental groups, public speaking, writing, and restoring antique furniture.

Chambers lives in Lacey, Washington.

Correspondence

Following are some examples of correspondence by Chambers to a Bertrand Russell Society chat group:

(26 July 2009 - re: Lloyd Morain)

When we were in Carmel, March of 2007, Lloyd had been clearing out many files. He'd given virtually all Mary's files from the International Society for General Semantics to some current leaders who wanted them kept safe from being scattered to the winds.

Those on these lists may enjoy knowing about a personal encounter Lloyd had with a New Guinea head hunter. Not actually New Guinea but an island in Indonesia where a tribe still survives up a nearly impassable river that was first spotted by the Japanese during World War 2. The tribe is protected from "outsiders" by some kind of pact among scientists, not bother them, or disturb their culture. A few people are allowed in annually, by prior appointment with the head man, and may stay only a few days. They may bring nothing in with them unless prior agreement, not even food. One exception: salve to cure ringworm. That had been killing young children.

So, about 5-7 years ago (maybe more) Lloyd went on a cruise ship run by some scientific expedition outfit. The locals were having a ceremony of "adoption" for a young girl, lost in the jungle, probably from another almost unknown tribe with whom they fought occasionally. While this ceremony was talking place, Lloyd wandered around and looked into a long-house. He reported seeing a small, knarled individual, clearly severely handicapped, who scurried off into the dark interior. At which moment, a tall, very impressive young man with several weapons emerged, all decked out in paint, feathers, and so on. Lloyd recognized him as possibly the future chieftain about whom the head man had spoken to the tour guide.

This young man would have to take the head of a man in the other tribe before being qualified to succeed the older chief. As Lloyd noted, "They do not take many heads. Just a few. now and then."

But as no one was nearby with the ceremony going on, Lloyd found himself in a "staring contest" with this fellow. As Lloyd recounted it, it seems a half hour passed while they stood in one place, rigidly, staring one another down. Finally, the head hunter reached to his side and handed Lloyd the beautiful ceremonial sword he had been brandishing.

Lloyd was deeply touched. It was with some trouble that he was able to bring the sword back with him. It's quite unlikely that that sword was intended to take heads, as it was more an atlatl type thing on a very long staff, itself beautifully carved and painted. This will be among the art collection that Lloyd has from all over the world, much of it stone age, that will go to the museum at Bend, Oregon.

Even more impressive was his description of the adoption ceremony. All the men stand in a long line, legs outspread, to form a "tunnel" through which the young girl crawled until she emerged at the far end. Once there, much singing and feasting takes place, and she becomes a full member of the tribe. The tour leader opined that the men standing in a line to form a tunnel represented the birth canal, and once initiated the child belongs to the whole community, as do all the children. I found myself thinking how our "legal adoption" system in the West might take a note of that! No lawyers to get rich, no foolishness about "legitimacy," etc. Bette Chambers

(27 July 2009 - re: Communism)

I vividly remember a conference in Buffalo in 1988 when two (I think) representatives of the "Institute for Marxist-Leninist Scientific Atheism" had been invited to attend. About 25 of us had visited the "Institute" leaders in Moscow in 1986. As all of us could fairly be described as atheists, the Marxist-Leninists were (somewhat) puzzled that we weren't communists. And we, in turn, wondered how the Institute leaders could claim their beliefs were "scientific," notably the notion that science could prove the non-existence of God. The Institute was even a part of the Soviet Academy of Science. That said, the reps. of the Institute (I specifically remember one fellow) were treated abominably. Some said . . . and I agreed . . . that [Paul] Kurtz, who headed the conference + arrangements, felt a deep need to defend/exhibit his own anti-communist credentials. Snubbing invited foreign guests seemed unnecessarily outre. The 25 of so of us had been greeted by Institute leaders two years earlier with considerable courtesy and respect. And I doubt any minds were changed on either side.

One conclusion I took away from this 1986 visit was that Marxist-Leninist Scientific Atheism was basically a state religion. An "Atheocracy," I suppose. Its structure paralleled the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine at the Vatican (whatever new title that has today). It's "hierarchy" could also be said to parallel that of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its objectives were to inculcate the "creed" from the cradle to the grave. Their programs impacted education from nursery school through college gradation and beyond. At the same time, the Soviet Constitution provided for freedom of religion. Institute leaders reasoned that it might take several generations before religion was wiped clean of citizens' beliefs.

While it didn't really come up, I would imagine [Bertrand] Russell was pretty much persona non grata for his writings following 1917 and the fall of [Alexander] Kerensky. [Mikhail] Gorbachev was still in power when we visited. [Joseph] Stalin had been condemned, at least officially. [Nikita] Khruschev's grave was not a tourist attraction. But we did insist, and we prevailed with our official guides, to visit the Museum of Atheism in Leningrad (now back to St. Kazan's cathedral again).

I was almost sorry when [Boris] Yeltsin or a successor opened Russia to all sorts of religious outfits, including Jehovah's Witnesses. Mormons, etc. Bette Chambers