Founder’s Syndrome: Jesus, Ellis and Kurtz

Now that Paul Kurtz has put the record straight about the nature of his nino-s-restaurant-photo ouster from the Center for Inquiry Board chairmanship (reprinted below), let me chime in for what, I promise, is a last time on this sad state of affairs.

Those of you who know me–perhaps not many of those who read the blog on this matter–will know that it is not my style to engage in ad hominem attacks–though I have often wondered what other kind there are. (Presumably an attack on a cow is an ad vaccam attack but would only be sensible if somebody is desperate for milk.) The brief observations I made on this page were a different genre–and I thank those of you who wrote acknowledging this fact. The “biographia literaria” is often trenchantly critical, sometimes severe, but tries to be fair to its subject. It is not, as someone suggested, a “living obituary” (eh?).

The purpose of my comments was to put into context the events that transpired at CFI in the first week of June. I was slightly amused that the conversation quickly turned from a discussion of the article to a conversation about whether my report had been factual–inasmuch as I was not in the room. My distance from the boardroom highlights three related theological dilemmas: (a) the empty tomb problem (no one saw it who’s now reporting it), (b) reports of those who were there and whose report differs from the events, and (c) the event itself , which is probably best left to the eventuee to describe, as he has now done. When in doubt, invoke Schlomo’s Razor. Schlomo is the famous Jewish robber who, caught in the act with a stash of jewels dripping from his pockets, said: “Who are you going to believe–me or your own eyes.”

I have opportunistically raised the question of Jesus because he illustrates a pattern in the history of corporate group-think, one that can be applied here. We all know that Jesus somehow managed to get his name associated with a movement called Christianity even though he never founded a church and seems to have been a pretty poor judge of followers. As far as we know, his disciples didn’t found churches either and came to sundry martyrish ends. On the other hand, St Paul was so good at it that it became necessary to make him an honorary apostle and supply him with a graduate degree in revelation experience, just to account for his success in bringing off what Jesus never could. The first order of business was to vote the historical Jesus out of existence and hand power over to a new class of bureaucrats, the bishops. Once his words were slapped between covers in the canon, they could conveniently be set aside and the real work of corporate development could begin.

Jump ahead: In 2005 the “inventor” of Rational Emotive Therapy, the sexologist and outspoken atheist Albert Ellis was dismissed from his role as CEO of his Institute in Manhattan by his own board. The reason given for his sacking was sadly predictable: He did not like the way things were being run–especially the innovations of some of the younger therapists he had trained himself–and the board could no longer tolerate the way he ran them. Interference was called, removal from the game was just a vote away. Ellis died in 2007, his legacy in question, and also the disposition of his property at 45 East 65th Street.

The preservation of an ideology is where the founder has to take a stand. It is (as he sees it) his moral obligation. Nothing is more important. But the change that is necessary for growth characterizes every management crisis from early Christianity down to Ellis–and CFI. These two imperatives–the founder’s vision and the game of success–don’t often mix well. Jesus had the good sense to be crucified at 33 before the change to his mission and message could be implemented, but there is tantalizing evidence that the changes were happening all around him. Ellis chose to fight until the age of 93, through lawyers and his partner, Debbie Joffe, over property and presentation, and died before the empire crumbled like the statue of Ozymandias. (And we all know that lawyers are at least as good as the Taliban at abasing statues and organizations).

Paul Kurtz, no friend of Jesus (for which he is to be commended perhaps) and a good friend of the late Albert Ellis now stares history in the face. But it will not be his fiat that determines the course of his Center or the fate of secular humanism. Founders do not seem to have the luxury of deciding how their legacies will be judged, or even whether a future generation will buy their product. The economic shock from which the world is recovering had something to do with the terribly odd notion that certain companies like Lehman Brothers and General Motors had a different corporate DNA than lesser companies. Henry Lehman and William Durant on the other hand were merely human and long dead when the troubles arose.

So let’s see where CFI goes from here, but let’s be clear about the non-equation between what a founder wants and what he creates. The “founders” of important organizations are obviously motivated by the finish line. The nature of history however, is to keep moving the line.

This little parable doesn’t take into account the thousands of organizations that don’t survive beyond the family restaurant model of development. Where I live in New York,, a famous Italian restaurant shut its underused doors a few years ago because Grandpa Leone would not leave the kitchen, fired his son (who had made changes to the pasta dishes and added wine to the menu) and retaken control. He was certain that the downward spiral was caused by his son’s mismanagement and taste for new cuisine. He had convinced himself that his homemade pasta was enough to draw the crowds. They didn’t come.

I don’t suggest for a moment that changing a menu is a recipe for success and corporate growth. I am just saying that success isn’t possible without it. Just ask the guy at the Rent-it-All center that stands on the site of Leone’s Family Italian Restaurant.

Meanwhile, we wish Paul Kurtz and the Center for Inquiry, whatever the terms of their future relationship, every success in bringing vision to action and action to reality.

_________________

This comment from Center for Inquiry founder Paul Kurtz was left on the thread about CFI’s recent changes in leadership.

I didn’t want it to get lost, so I’m reposting it here in full:

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

May I set the historical record straight. I was unceremoniously ousted as Chairman of the Center for Inquiry/Transnational on June 1, 2009. It is totally untruthful to state that I was not. The effort by the CEO to cover up this deed offends any sense of fairness and I do not wish to be party to that deception. It was a palace coup clear and simple by those who wish to seize immediate power.

I founded the various organizations of the Center for Inquiry (CFI), including CSICOP (now the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry or CSI) and the Council for Secular Humanism (CSH) and I labored tirelessly for years. And I served without any compensation whatsoever for over 33 years, devoting my life blood to these organizations and the high ideals that they represent. The broad goals of CFI are to defend the scientific outlook and critical thinking in the public at large and to develop secular ethical humanist values as alternatives to religion. There are now 40 Centers and Communities world wide. We are the largest secular humanist and scientific rationalist organization of its kind in North America.

The Board of Directors removed me as Chairman (I am “Chairman Emeritus”) and stripped me of any authority or responsibility to see that the Center for Inquiry continues to grow during the current economic crisis. I had agreed to a succession plan, but it was supposed to be a gradual process. I am concerned that the direction CFI will be changed.

I should further state that at one point, the Board majority notified me that if I did not agree with my ouster that they would eject me from my office from our world headquarters in Amherst, New York, a building that I designed and raised the funds to build. It is across the street from the State University of New York at Buffalo campus, where I served for many years as Professor of Philosophy.

I have agreed to remain on the Board for now — though I feel completely demoralized by the power grab — after a degrading Inquisition conducted by the Board a year ago and my final Expulsion from an organization, which I love dearly, and whose future survival I fear is now endangered.

Paul Kurtz