At a Dinner Party
Those who know me will probably recognize I have been on a quest for quite some time now. One of the amazing things I am discovering is just how disconnected we are from our engagements in the defense of social standards. Where we are challenged, and how we contribute in what we have decided are economical norms.
The most recent engagement involved a dinner party where there was a diverse crowd. Recognizing that many in society are scared to speak their truth, I am in continued search of those who are willing to acknowledge and stand up for what they believe in, no matter how different it may be from my own beliefs.
Let me clarify what is meant by a diverse crowd, a group of Americans from all backgrounds who would not be identified as a minority. I dislike the use of the word minority as I believe it has very little significance on who we are at the end of the day. But I do readily acknowledge that it does create limitations on how we interpret our surroundings.
Eventually you will see a documentary on this which we hope to have published by the end of 2015. However, we see the matter so urgent, failure to engage will result in further polarization of the great contributors in this era of discovery.
We share these stories with you with the goal of driving engagement rather than to defend. So much is lost in the ‘art of defense” it falls short of our abiliy to bring value. It is also the easy way out.
During the dinner party, I approached a guest for who I was familiar but not someone I knew intimately. None-the-less, a man willing to let his voice ring out with one who might perceive it as clarity. The question is clarity to who?
He started out his comments with disdain for those who he felt carried no value. Those who drain our community of resources because they either lacked the talent, or fortitude to be counted. This opened up such an array of questions, I found it difficult to contain myself.
Because he is from Washington State, the first thing we hit upon (my question) was cannabis. A subject he was eagerly ready to engage in. “I don’t like these stoners having freedoms everywhere and the ability to expose my kids to what I find extremely offensive.” This opened a debate about civil liberties without him being able to determine where I stood on the matter. Of course this tends to be a method I use to get to the raw truth of another’s opinion.
We quickly moved to what he called the (N) word, or a newly discover term, wiggers, an interesting definition of someone who is obviously attempting to divide society based on some level of claimed importance. I thought it interesting he brought up this subject without my prodding him for what he considered wasted human capital. Follow by the famous statement "I don’t see you as black." This opens such a wide range of emotions that I will save my observations until later. I move the conversation along not wanting to get stuck in an obvious loop. It would have been too easy to connect the dots.
Realizing he hadn’t rattled any chains he quickly moved on to why illegal immigrants should be sent back from wherever they came. Noting their arrival contributes to the laziness of the black community. Now one might ask, why would I spend time engaging someone who’s opinion seem so disconnected from reality. I am of the philosophy that there is nothing to be gain from turning a blinds eye. Couple with the fact I’ve known the host for years and most people would shy away from uncomfortable conversations. Sometimes referred to as "the white elephant in the room."
Check in later to hear more opinions being discovered on this journey in our evolution/creation as we see it.
I will post an update on social media to let you know when the next chapter has been written. Until then, stay engaged.
