You can join everyday Americans, rediscovering the power of disagreement, at events we call...
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Why DaaFD is like an onramp to citizenship options
Like an on-ramp, can these 5 chairs*
lead We The People to citizenship paths?
lead We The People to citizenship paths?
Many Americans want to be part of self-governance but are stymied into inaction. Our governing
system has morphed into exhausting dysfunction. Why get involved?
The history books will one day reflect, that in the gut of America, we (We The People) again confronted
the stark reality: “United, we stand – Divided, we fall.” And so, in the 2020’s – the people rose up to
take back their governance! Not as a mob, but as thoughtful, knowledgeable people.
Many paths of non-violent, renewed citizen participation have been taking shape for two decades now.
But where are the people? They are sitting on the sidelines waiting for on-ramps.
We the people have forgotten that democracy is deeply rooted in constructive disagreement (not
division). Thus, we now have almost no remaining places to learn healthy disagreement skills. The result
– an ineffectual, milk-toast version of We The People! Ugh! And we know it. Thus, one surprising way
to legitimately strengthen We The People is to learn these skills! Suddenly, an on-ramp appears.
An on-ramp that engages an oddly attractive citizenship path, of healthy disagreement, face-to-face. From this on-ramp, flows many other legitimate paths for citizen participation.
What is Dinner and a Fight?
We invite 30 to 60 people to Dinner and a Fight Dialogue™ events. And they come! And they want
more! Indeed, people are hungry for constructive disagreement. They find that this path leads to
authenticity, knowledge, creativity, resiliency, healthy relationships … all are building blocks of
citizenship. And citizenship building then leads to action.
A 150-minute DaaFD™ event, has only 20-minutes of instruction, and follows this sequence:
The outcomes after leaving a Dinner and a Fight Dialogue™ are simple and
profound. (1) Participants have renewed hope: we can love both our country
AND our neighbor. (2) Participants are introduced to multiple paths of
citizenship – my action can add up to something!
Have we found a path to getting on the road again? We think so!
With this renewed hope, we see at least 5 paths of participation:
1. Good-old-fashioned volunteering, in
the local community, to care for the
hungry, the sick, the youth learning to
read, the seniors needing a visitor…
2. Strengthening my disagreement skills. Which is complimentary to citizen improvement, personal improvement, family improvement, career improvement, more. We can point you to some of the best tools in the field.
3. Spread the good-vibrations. Bring a friend or family member to Dinner and a Fight Dialogue™, especially if they are your opposite! The more citizens that experience hope, and the disagreement toolbox, the better for all of us. We can point you toward other similar organizations, too.
2. Strengthening my disagreement skills. Which is complimentary to citizen improvement, personal improvement, family improvement, career improvement, more. We can point you to some of the best tools in the field.
3. Spread the good-vibrations. Bring a friend or family member to Dinner and a Fight Dialogue™, especially if they are your opposite! The more citizens that experience hope, and the disagreement toolbox, the better for all of us. We can point you toward other similar organizations, too.
4. Join a DeepDiveTeam to study a divisive topic. This is truly like a tour-of-duty: 8 to 14 diverse
team mates, exploring that divisive topic from many points of view, learning deliberation and
decision techniques, packaging the voice of your team as a gift for other citizens to digest.
5. Restoring election power to We The People is critical, by changing election law. Gerrymandering, term limits, big dark money, primaried-out, and many other dysfunctions need to be dealt with. This path is known as “structural reform” and is a growing effort that you can connect with at www.represent.us
5. Restoring election power to We The People is critical, by changing election law. Gerrymandering, term limits, big dark money, primaried-out, and many other dysfunctions need to be dealt with. This path is known as “structural reform” and is a growing effort that you can connect with at www.represent.us
Citizenship innovations are happening. By restoring election power to the people, and by creating wholistic-voices-of-the-people, our elected representatives can follow our lead. All with the aim of collaboration and accountability.