Month: November 2016

A Lesson on Engagement, Connection, and Planning

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By Rachael

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Disclaimer: we almost forgot to take a photo, so there was much more food prior to consumption and clean-up. But the modeling of the pie and fruit by Brent and Tan is much better than the table full of food would’ve been anyway.

So because I am from Bowling Green, I originally planned to do my Kentucky Kitchen Table here with family and a few friends or distant relatives for diversity sake. However, that plan went awry. I won’t bore you with all the details (because they are boring and quite anticlimactic), but I ended up rather late in the game without a table. Luckily for me, I’ve met some really wonderful people in this class (looking at you Hilarie and Brent), and they kindly let me crash their dinner. And even though it was very last minute and totally not my plan, as is often the case, the spontaneity and the detour made it all the better.

I’ll get to all that good stuff in a moment, but first, an introduction. As implied by the term “crash,” I did not go in knowing who all would be attending this little soiree. (Just kidding, I looked up that word so I could see how to spell it, and it’s defined as a “fancy evening affair”; our evening was neither fancy nor grand enough to be called an “affair,” but nevertheless.) I obviously knew Hilarie and Brent from class: Hilarie from connecting outside of class because of overlapping friends and common interests and Brent from the social issue paper.

However, there was a lot that I didn’t know about them. For starters, Hilarie is a double major and a double minor. Who knew? And also, how impressive is that? Goodness. Hilarie is not much of a pie person; I know this because I brought an apple and a fudge pie (courtesy our great local bakery Riley’s Bakery). Luckily, she does enjoy ice cream (courtesy of our great local ice cream shop, hangout, and farm Chaney’s Dairy Barn), which made me feel better about my experience earlier in the day when I walked out of the shop, alone, with loads of sweets. (Cute.) Other than the pie thing, Hilarie is a girl much after my own heart—a singer, a social justice discusser, a feminist, and a constant thinker—and has so many talents and assets, not the least of which is her incredible brain and the thoughts that come from it. I so enjoyed getting to hear more of her ideas that night. She is also very gifted in choosing (and applying) excellent, bold shades of lipstick and rocking reddish, purpleish, silverish hair like no one else I’ve seen. She is also a great balance to my proclivity for sweets; she provided our table with homemade organic turkey sandwiches and a veggie tray. Hilarie is a small-town girl (Middlesboro, Kentucky being that exact small town) with pride and purpose because of her roots. If I could pick a few people who I’d like to mold myself after to be when I grow up, Hilarie would be one of those people.

Next is Brent. Brent has ferociously curly hair, which he just cut much shorter right before our dinner! (It looks very nice, Brent; don’t feel sad.) Brent is a Nursing major, something I had either known and forgotten or had never known at all; either way, I am fascinated and extremely impressed. He aspires to one day be part of Doctors Without Borders—color me more impressed. Brent also deeply enjoys chocolate pie, which is why we had fudge pie…also just because fudge pie is delicious. Brent and I have a very fun friendship, in which he makes jokes that I don’t get until later and irks me by “playing” sexist. Hilarious. In return, I like to step on his masculinity by constantly asserting myself in the conversation, laugh too hard at my own jokes, and tell him that no, he could not be on SNL. (Sorry, buddy.) Brent is from Nashville, Tennessee and spent this past summer in Taiwan—another surprise! He is a talented thinker, compassionate human, and I enjoyed hearing his insights and learning more about him at dinner. If I could pick a few people to model my hair after, Brent would be one of those people.

Brent brought along his friend Tan, who is an international student from Vietnam. He is 22 years old, has gorgeous, thick, jet-black hair, and you pronounce his name “Tahn.” He speaks extremely good English (a million times better than my Vietnamese would be, goodness); he is an interesting person outside of how well he speaks (I will get to this momentarily), but I just think it’s really impressive and something we take for granted, as most of us never have to/want to really learn another language. Tan is currently working on his English so that he can pursue a degree in Business. He originally wanted to be a Math teacher because he really enjoys the subject, but he has since changed his mind and decided he wants to pursue business, which, coincidentally, is what both of his parents do. He said he would still like to be able to teach at some point but for the moment is really interested in learning business, working for a company, and eventually starting his own business.

Tan is a pretty quiet guy, or at least was this evening; I suppose it’s a little silly of me to assume one night is the epitome of what a person is. (From some of the nights I’ve had, I would really hope that’s not the case.) Tan was really interested in the number of holidays here and the ways in which we celebrate them. He asked a lot of questions about Thanksgiving and told us that in his country they really only celebrate New Year and even that is different because it’s celebrated in February. I asked him what his parents thought of him coming over here and he said they were very worried about him changing a lot or being corrupted somehow, but that they spoke every day—despite the 11 hour time difference. Tan’s curiosity, bright smile, and eagerness to learn are infectious, and his presence was a real asset at the table.

And finally, there was Jen. Jen was our host for the evening who provided the cozy environment and necessary kitchen table. Jen is a social justice warrior who would never call herself that. Jen works and fights for people. Period. She works very closely with the refugees in Bowling Green in numerous capacities. One of my favorite moments of the evening was Jen talking about “doing good” without doing it for praise or even “because it’s the right thing to do”; for her “doing good” is just basic humanity and shouldn’t have any further thought; it should just be inherent. And I really loved this concept of thoughtful actions done thoughtlessly. I’d never framed it that way, and it was something really special.

Jen was born just outside of Philly and has lived many places, including Texas where one of her boys was born, much to her chagrin. Jen is married to a Political Science professor at WKU, and they have two children—one of whom is in Gatton Academy here. Jen was also a Political Science major in college but has pursued many different careers throughout her 40 some-odd-long life. She is currently working for Pearson as a writer and editor—something very much after my own heart. Jen is an incredibly intelligent, kind without agenda, and insightful beyond what a three-hour long dinner conversation could fully display.

As I am typing this out, I realize I am over 1100 words in and just finishing my “introduction.” And I am chuckling to myself at a couple of things. One, it’s hilarious how much I can pour into something when I’m not even trying to. And two, in direct relation to one, I didn’t even have to think about all the stuff I’ve written. I just remembered it. I have roughly an hour and a half of recordings from that night (I didn’t record our whole conversation because we would shuffle to get tea or something), but I have yet to refer to them once. I’m amazed and stunned at what I can remember when I’m actually listening, when I create an intention behind my listening, when my listening has motivation. This is also sad, obviously, that a looming grade is what has to pressure me to actively engage. And not even engage in conversation by speaking myself but simply by engaging my listening. There’s such a difference there: between being present for a conversation and being actively engaged in it; neither of those options require you to speak, but the first you could so easily not actually be present or engaged.

And I think, because of all this self-revelation I’m having in the moment, that that’s one of my biggest take-aways from this experience: just what it means to listen and to engage. I thought I was good at that already, but seeing how much I can pour out now simply because I was a willing, engaged vessel then shows me that there’s so much I miss. Maybe I already knew that Hilarie had two majors and two minors. Maybe I already knew that Brent was a Nursing major. Maybe I didn’t know either of those things. And that’s not my point. I’m just sort of here typing this, looking somewhat deranged I’m sure, nodding to myself and marveling at how much I would’ve missed if I hadn’t been actively involved that night—if I’d been on my phone or hyper-aware of the time or just unfocused. And what I’m realizing right now is just how powerful that engagement, that listening, is—in all situations. Think of how much smoother and more intelligently our political debates (among politicians and among ourselves) would go! Think of how much harder it would be to dismiss, dislike, or even hate people if we listened first—if we were actively engaged in hearing others. What would that look like?

This is something we even talked about a lot during our time together, but it’s just so moving right now as I sit here and reflect on how much I know about these strangers and semi-acquaintances, on how connected to them I feel now. What if that kind of connection could extend to all people? To the refugees who Jen works so closely with? To the homeless person on the corner? To the girl who sits next to you in class? What if we defaulted to connection, humanity, and engagement? What would our world look like?

And I really thought I would go into all the political conversation and the stories about the refugees Jen told us and how we each described what citizenship means to us, but I’m realizing that like my first plan for this project, that plan for this post needs to change. Because yes, we did have very cool, like-minded conversation about politics in America and the beauty in telling stories and how we all knew this was like-minded political conversation and that the real conversation and engagement needed to happen with people outside of this table and mindset. We had three hours of really cool, smart story swapping and idea sharing. But it was the actual engagement—the sitting down at the kitchen table, totally disarmed, drinking tea, just chatting, and listening—that was the most powerful and important for me. And that’s what is going to make this experience one of my, unexpectedly, best nights of the semester and moments of this course. (Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy, but genuine.)

So, all that said, I’ll just wrap up with some “thank you’s.” Thank you to the darling Hilarie and Brent. Thank you for letting me crash your evening. Thank you for being open and sharing your passions. Thank you, Tan, for coming to a random event and for sharing your experience with us. Thank you for coming to WKU and for being brave enough to take on our crazy, scary, awesome America all by yourself. Thank you, Jen, for being so gracious and for being such a warrior for people—because it should be our default setting to help, and it should be something done without fanfare. And thank you, Dr. Gish, for making this experience happen by assigning this project. I am a vocal and open but quite introverted person and would never have done this had it not been for this assignment. And I’m so glad I got to! So yeah, thank you to everyone for just giving me a chance to engage and remember what it’s like to be at peace in the midst of spontaneity. Thank you all for reminding me that fresh plans are often so much better than “planned” plans. (So much cheese.) (So much sincerity.)

Mark’s Kentucky Kitchen Table Dinner

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For my Kentucky Kitchen Table project, I invited over a few of my friends from the forensics team and their roommates. We had a great dinner consisting of pulled pork, salad, spicy baked white beans, cilantro lime brown rice, and bread. The people who were at the dinner were as follows. Bailey is a junior at WKU who is a member of the forensics team and brought the pulled pork. Eli is a freshman at WKU brought the rice and is roommates with one of my teammates Alex. Eli is also a member of the forensics team. Alex is also a freshman at WKU who is on the forensics team and he brought the spicy beans because he is a vegan. Alec is roommates with my friend Bailey and he is a junior from Lexington Kentucky. I originally planned to have my other teammates bring some of their floor-mates but they had cancelled at the last minute.

While the group wasn’t as diverse as it could have been, I do think that the group was representative of great geographic diversity. In fact, every single person who attended the dinner was from a different area. The group represented people from Blaine (Minnesota), Englewood (FL), Lexington (Kentucky), Albany (Georgia), and Newton (Kansas). Bailey and I are also first generation college students with family lineage going back to grandparents and/or parents who immigrated to the United States from Europe.

As dinner got under way the first thing that was brought up was the obvious, the results of the election. The majority of the people around the table had a general disgust with the election overall, which is how the conversation started. All parties involved decided that both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have been the two weakest candidates since we have been able to vote. Realizing that a Trump victory was an inevitability, much of the discussion was centered around the idea of why we believe that Trump had to use such bigoted and discriminatory framings to advance his policies. While none of us agreed with the policies that Trump was implementing, we all agreed that there could be some policies better formulated by Trump. One such suggestion was creating a system that vets all immigrants instead of just targeting Muslims by establishing a registry. We agreed obviously it is important to know the background of people who are going to reside within this country, but we all though that it should be easier to get citizenship.
Moving on from the political discussions, we began to talk about our family heritage. Eli, Alex, and Alec grew up with families who have lived in the United States for the last few generations. However, both Bailey and I had the unique experience of coming from families who are very diverse in their background and come from Europe. One thing that Bailey and I noticed was different was the size of our families. When we have family get-togethers, it is normal to have 30-40 people over at our house. However, the other members in our group came from very small families who weren’t very close. Both Bailey and I realized that we know our fourth cousins like they are our siblings, but the rest of the group really didn’t know their extended family very well or at all. However, everyone at the dinner came from families who are not extraordinarily wealthy. Baily and I learned to be frugal from the older generations of our families, but the rest of the group grew up in rural areas in families that know how to save money and spend frugally. I thought that is was quite interesting that even though our lineage came from very different backgrounds, there are some societal indicators that pass down traits through generations. In this instance, families who have come from humble upbringings teach future generations to be frugal with the money that they make.

The final theme that we discussed at our dinner was religion. For the people in the group, both Eli and I identify as being Roman Catholic. Alec identifies as Lutheran. Both Alex and Bailey stated that they did not believe in any higher power or God. This conversation got a bit personal but eventually centered around the idea of how religion can be used as a powerful tool in society. Many people in the past have used religion in harmful ways to extort money out of people for their personal gain. But, on the other hand we realized that the moral underpinnings of a variety of religions and moral codes all like on the same principles of being a good person and ensuring that you not only benefit yourself but also those around you.

Everyone at the end of the meal said what they thought citizenship means to them. In light of the recent political climate, many people in the group were slightly hesitant to identify as being proud of our nation. However, people said that being a citizen of this country goes beyond the bounds of the person our country elects in the white house. In fact, the group agreed that if you are unhappy with the political situation in the country it is your obligation to speak up and vote to incite change. Thus, we concluded that a citizen is someone who always stands up for their best interests and the best interests of everyone in this country. As a bunch of white males, we will never personally feel the ramifications of Trump’s immigration policies for the Latino or Muslim population. However, as citizens of this country we have an obligation to speak out and protect those around us. That is how we can truly “make America great again”.

I really enjoyed my Kentucky Kitchen table. In fact, this project had very pronounced connections to the class which preaches about a sense of community. A strong community will always strive for seeking out ways to live better together. While we didn’t agree on every issue that we discussed, there was always a middle ground that was found. This is because everyone in the group put forth their ideas in a reasonable and calm way. As a result, we kind of engaged in a deliberation that brought us together instead of polarizing us. This project has taught me that there is no way to live better together as a community than getting to know the people who surround you. And even though many of the members of this group were on the forensics team with me, I learned so much about my fellow teammates, especially the freshman. This just goes to show that talking to the people around you can bring you all closer together.

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MARK ALLSEITS KKT DINNER

Homemade Pizzas and Pleasant Conversation

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kktBy Conner

To begin, my group no doubt had the best Kentucky Kitchen Table. Before even arriving at the house, I was able to provide Ally and Jacob a ride to the location. We made a quick dash into the local Walmart for a last-minute purchase of a pizza topping: Jacob- mushrooms, Ally- pepperoni, myself- pineapple, then began our journey to Christian’s beautiful home. During the approximate 20 minute drive, we had a nice conversation on the prior week’s election results, some of us celebratory, others mournful. We also discussed Jacob’s recent surgery to remove his gallbladder. I’m sure I asked him an excessive number of questions being a pre-med student.

When we arrived at Christian’s house after a beautiful ride through sun-setting Franklin with only one missed turn, the house looked… worn. However, with one step in the back door, I was in awe. Christian described the house to be over a hundred years, a simple explanation for a rougher exterior. However, the fruits of her 11 years of labor were extremely obvious with the interior. Her home looked like something out of “Home Design.” It was beautifully restored, retaining an antique feel with a modern touch, a perfect representation of Christian’s aesthetic I would later discover. We were greeted by not only Christian, her partner Chuck, and Madeline, but two very pretty, very personal canines.

We received a brief tour of the house to begin, only increasing my amazement with its beauty. Conversation then started off with slight hesitation, but we all quickly warmed up. As Christian is WKU’s Sustainability Coordinator, a lot of conversation revolved around sustainability. Jacob discussed a project he is working on looking into renewable energy sources. I then brought up some of the recent successes of the WKU Student Government Association’s Sustainability Committee led by my friend Savannah Molyneaux. As a senator, I had the privilege to hear about things such as the implementation of reusable containers in Fresh and the beginning elimination of bags at Subway. We then discussed more exciting legislation such as the resolution to eliminate Styrofoam on campus, as well as establishing the Sustainability Committee as an SGA permanent committee  The passion Christian spoke about all of these efforts was as awing as the place she called home. As we all chatted, we began the exciting task of making homemade pizzas. This act promoted a great sense of group bonding before ever even taking a seat around a table to eat. We didn’t take the act lightly however, engaging in the promising practice of deliberation to weigh toppings and values. At first I worried we would become caught in the “snare of preparation”, but luckily our growing hunger prompted us to action. We yielded astounding results.

When we finally set down around a table, we were fortunately already familiar with one another. Through conversation at the table, I best learned about each individual. We began with the required question-Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you? Chuck started with a description of citizenship in the terms of our military members. Their sacrifice and the safety that him and other Americans feel in their home country is the best example. Ally then took a stab at citizenship. In her eyes, American citizenship was being able to practice what you believe, in her case Christianity. She described the persecution Christians face in some other countries for simply trying to practice and spread what they believe. Madeline followed with a response similar to Ally’s, focusing again on the freedoms we are privileged to have in the United States. Christian then, in my perspective, stole the show with a story of three women in Bowling Green who were simply challenging the status quo. One such individual was contradicting the way we view homeless individuals. For example, the idea that some individuals feel uncomfortable with the idea of home ownership. She hit heavy on the aspect of meeting marginalized people where they are instead of trying to tell them what they need. Jacob was next, and discussed a community aspect of citizenship similar to mine . I had the chance to round out the question. I focused on a more universal citizenship over American specifics. I described citizenship as people contributing what they’re best at in order to form an efficient community. The varying responses in even this one question represented the diversity of the group. The only other specific question we had time to focus on was “what we think are the best things about the world today?” There was a near group consensus that the best part about today’s world was technology that brings the whole world together. In other words, the increasing globalization is moving us towards a worldly community. We determined this is a beneficial thing for understanding and peace, as long as we are retaining pieces of cultures and the western world is not crushing others.

After everyone had finished their meals, Jacob and Chuck went in to the living room for a brief time to watch the football game. Ally, Madeline, Christian, and I stayed in the dining room. We discussed gun rights as earlier Ally had explained a story in which she had wielded a firearm in order to deter a man trying to steal a trailer from her house. Ally and Madeline seemed to side more on the protection of the second amendment, while I was more for the limiting of firearms for greater public safety. While little opinion change occurred, mostly due to the brevity of the conversation, we all agreed on Christian’s statement of wanting to keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people, such as through more extensive background checks and closing loopholes. We successfully found common ground, an important part of working together.

When Jacob and Chuck reentered the room, we all began to clean up and work towards the conclusion of our night together. Ms. Ryan packaged up leftover pizza and gave us each a jar of the amazing vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies she had prepared. Madeline had to quickly leave in order to get back for cheer. We all thanked Chuck and Christian for hosting us and Ally, Jacob, and I loaded into the car to drive home.

In summary, we had a very diverse group. Ally and Madeline had similar views and identified with the same religion, but varied in their extent of expression. Ally was much more outspoken, while Madeline was more reserved. Jacob was also very verbal and always added interesting ideas. Christian and Chuck were the most interesting pairing. Chuck, as former U.S. Marine, had a very patriotic, national view, while Christian focused on small, standout community action. The most valuable thing I took away from my KKT was from Christian’s citizenship stories. Connecting it to the bridge we discuss in class, the way we get from where we are to where we want to be, however defined, is by rethinking how we look at a situation. As with wicked problems, the proposed solutions evolve from what perspective we take. In order to formulate the best solution, we must consider them all, requiring a new situation analysis which is outside the mainstream. Overall, my KKT experience far exceeded expectations.

A New Experience: My Kentucky Kitchen Table Project

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By Abigail

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For my Kentucky Kitchen Table Project, I had the opportunity to travel to a home in Bowling Green, Kentucky that I had never been to before. The host was a very friendly man, named Nate, who was very open to sharing personal stories and what it means to live in society today. Nate is a retired school teacher and is currently preaching at a local Christian church in Bowling Green, Kentucky. His wife Nancy has passed away but he is very close with his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, whom he visits quite regularly in Florida. He is very outgoing and not afraid at all to tell embarrassing stories about himself or tell of many experiences he has faced. Also seated at the dinner table were two of my classmates from Citizen and Self. Zachary, a sophomore at Western Kentucky University, is from Louisville, Kentucky and is majoring in English. He told of his experiences as a swimmer in Louisville, Kentucky and his new involvement with Greek life on campus. Cate is a freshman at Western Kentucky University who is also majoring in English. She told of her experiences as a volleyball player in high school and of her job working at a local barbeque restaurant in her hometown: Glasgow, Kentucky. However, she is not involved with a Greek organization on campus.

When we first arrived at Nate’s house, we sat down at his dinner table and began getting to know one another better. We each described our adjustments to living on campus, and shared our backgrounds with one another. Nate talked about his experiences as a college student at Western Kentucky University and also at University of Kentucky and told us many stories about him and his wife. He also talked about how close he is with his neighbors and how they have a Fourth of July party every year full of fun and fireworks. Zach also discussed his closeness with his neighbors and how his parents host a neighborhood Bible study. I talked about how my neighborhood road is named after my last name because everyone who used to live there was related.

We then went and filled our plates with the delicious food that each person had contributed to the table. Nate cooked a full course meal including chicken, spaghetti, salad, rolls, green beans, and corn. Zachary, Cate, and I were responsible for bringing the deserts which consisted of chocolate chip cookies, rice crispy treats, and chocolate cupcakes. Nate said that he loves to cook and used to cook all the time when his wife Nancy was living, but it is so difficult now to cook for only one. Since Bowling Green, Kentucky is home to a wide variety of restaurants, Nate states that he likes to eat out a lot. We then directed the conversation to community and citizenship, and we began asking many questions that helped guide the discussion. We first asked him what citizenship meant to him. He said that citizenship means protecting, voting, paying taxes, and following laws. He also mentioned how he recognized that although there is a separation between church and state, he wishes that everyone would act morally by caring for one another. He believes that people have to be taught to care. Coming from a teacher’s standpoint, he used to see kids all the time who had feelings but did not see the responsibility to act on those feelings and care for others. His idea of citizenship and the act of caring for one another showed that his religious or spiritual identity, Christianity, related to how he thinks we should treat other people. He thinks that no matter what religious affiliation you are associated with, whether it be Buddhism, Christianity, or Islam, a person is expected to care. Nate shared his story of how he first became a preacher at the church he attends. He said he originally began on the minister supply list, a list including fill-in preachers when the main preacher is sick or in the hospital. However, his main preacher was fired and Nate was called to take his place. Willingly, he decided to do so and has been there ever since. He has been preaching for ten years. As we were on the subject of religion and its role in democracy, we went around the dinner table and shared our denominations. We are all Christians but I am a member of a Church of Christ, Cate attends a Baptist church, Zachary is non-denominational, and Nate preaches at a Christian church: Disciples of Christ.

Another topic that we discussed was the social issue that Nate holds closest to his heart. He said that working with the LGBTQ community has meant more to him than anything. His experience as a school teacher showed him that many who sexually identify as this were picked on and ridiculed. He said that his room was a safe space for them to go to and that they knew that. He said that many of them would come in his room during lunchtime and eat with him, that way they would not be bullied.

Lastly, we talked of the presidential election and the uproar it has caused on social media and in society. I told Nate about the discussion we had in our Citizen and Self class about the election and although some agreed with the decision made, and others opposed it, the students were still very respectful of others feelings. Nate told us that the reason why everyone was able to accept the differences in the room was because we had built relationships with one another and arguing over the election would hinder or hurt those relationships. He talked about the importance of connections and finding common ground. His advice for people running for office in our country is to learn to love your opposition. Although disagreements will occur, it is essential to love and respect the person that you are disagreeing with. Whenever we refuse to love and respect those we are disagreeing with, we have lost our humanity.

By doing this project, I learned a lot about other people’s views of our world today and how important it is to discuss with others the most prominent affairs affecting our country. Essentially, living well together involves understanding where others are coming from and being open-minded to other perspectives. It is not only about sharing your beliefs but it is about really listening and understanding others also. While sitting at the dinner table, it was very interesting to hear Nate’s take on the world. Nate is a man who lives in the same city as me, but I would have never had the opportunity to meet with him if it was not for connections and this project. Although I was very nervous when coming into the situation, I am glad that I went as I now see it as a great activity that really ties into the whole basis of the Citizen and Self class: understanding how we live and work well with others. I would definitely recommend this project to other students because although every individual at the kitchen table came from diverse backgrounds, we each brought something new to the table and was able to talk through our differences.

Blue Dog Democrats and Microfiches: My Kentucky Kitchen Table Project

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By Erik

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This fall, I had the pleasure of hosting my Kentucky Kitchen Table in my own dining room.  Since I have lived in Bowling Green, Kentucky my whole life, it was a convenient ten-minute drive from campus for me and John Mark, the cohost of the project.  Around the table (from left to right) was John Mark, a junior in the Honors College at WKU who is majoring in creative writing; DeAnn, John Mark’s mother, a very sweet woman who works as a physical therapist and is from Roanoke, Virginia; Rick R., my father, who works as a cognitive behavioral therapist, is infamous for his cheesy “dad jokes,” and is from Minnesota; Rick T., an accountant, history buff, and talker of all things politics who is from Carroll county and had lived in Franklin, Kentucky for many years; Kathy, my mother, who works as a marriage and family therapist, has the kindest of hearts, and is from Tennessee; and myself, a freshman in the Honors College at WKU who is majoring in chemistry and biology.

As the night began, we all gathered around the table and each enjoyed a big bowl of chili or two, making a few brief comments about my dogs who were loudly pleading for liberation from the bedroom in which they were locked in for the night.  Since the 2016 presidential election was earlier in the week, I knew political talk was inevitable, but I was excited to hear the various opinions that our guests had brought to the table, nevertheless.

Like most Kentucky Kitchen Table projects, we started out by discussing what it truly means to be a citizen, apart from voting and paying taxes.  The common response to this question was along the lines of how you should offer help to those who are in need, and how you should respectfully voice your opinions to the community when the opportunities arise.  In other words, you should be open to serving the community in hopes of making it a better place to live.  Connecting these ideas to the class, I presented the idea of how Thomas Jefferson highly valued town meetings because it was the healthiest way that the community could discuss societal issues.  After we explored many different answers, Rick T. posed his own question in response:  where has civility gone in today’s society?  His explanation to the question was composed of his experiences throughout his life, telling us about his noticing of society beginning to shift toward a lack of respect for one another’s opinions.  John Mark followed by talking about how people’s ideas are so polarized from each other, which oftentimes leads to people arguing with a closed mind, thus neglecting the idea of seeking a common ground to settle upon.

Switching the mood of the conversation, I asked those around the table what they thought some of the best things in today’s society were.  Those who were quick to answer listed off things such as technology, medicine, education, transportation, and the growth of capitalism and freedom.  DeAnn, reminiscing about old technology, asked me and John Mark if we happened to know about microfiches.   As we shook our heads no, DeAnn and Rick T. both took the opportunity to explain to us how troublesome it used to be to have to use a microfiche to research information for a school paper since all of your work had to be done at the library.  In contrast, the point was made about how our generation is fortunate enough to live in the age of technology, and how we are always roughly five clicks away from finding the answer to a myriad of questions online.  Being the philosopher that Rick T. is, he once again smoothly made his way into the conversation and posed another great question:  is the convenience of technology always a good thing?  We made the conclusion that in moderation, it is a good thing.  Rick R. talked about how thousands of years ago, people relied on each other for both safety and social interaction, and in contrast, people now just hunker down in the comfort of their home because technology and social media provides people with a sense of social connectedness.  This is one of the largest reasons that keeps us from getting to know our neighbors, and many of us are guilty of it.

Finally, with the election fresh on our minds, I posed the question, “what is some advice that you would give to the president-elect?”  A mutual agreement amongst everyone at the table was that the best piece of advice to is to tell him that the government is an institution, not a person.  This piece of advice would be good to tell the president-elect so that he may humble himself, and it is also a good piece of advice for those who are troubled by the thought of Mr. Trump in office.  Rick T. took this opportunity to access the perpetual history vault in his noggin to compare this situation to one seen earlier in American history: Ronald Reagan’s presidency.  Rick T. explained how Reagan was viewed as unfit for the presidency because he was a “stupid actor,” but went on to hold his own because of the smart individuals that he surrounded himself with in office – something that I think most of us hope Mr. Trump will do.  Also, one of the biggest revelations that occurred at the table was when Rick T. stated that he was a Blue Dog Democrat.  As a look of confusion emerged from many of our faces, Rick T. quickly explained that it was a term used for democrats who hold conservative views on many issues.  After Rick T. dropped this bomb on us, I personally began to question my stances on political issues and sift through the views that I can consider bipartisan.  As for DeAnn, she learned that her political views best matched up with Rick T.’s, considering herself a newly-found Blue Dog Democrat.

In closing, I came into this project expecting the night to be short, boring, and full of expected answers; however, I was shocked at how insightful and enjoyable the night turned out to be.  I am very thankful that I was required to complete this project, and I would absolutely do it again.  From the time I asked the first question of the night, to the time we cleaned up the dining room table, two, almost three hours had sped by.  Never in my life had I perceived the saying, “everyone has something to bring to the table,” as being so accurate.  If you ever have the chance to organize your own Kentucky Kitchen Table, I highly encourage you to, for you may walk away from the night with a different perspective on society, or maybe even discover that you are a Blue Dog Democrat, who knows…

By Kelby

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For my Kentucky Kitchen Table project, I hosted a hometown dinner. Instead of me being the one who invited the guest I let my sister decide who would be invited. I thought that letting her decide who should be there would put an interesting spin on how the project works. All the guests were younger than me which I expected to give a different perspective than what I would have gotten if I had invited people the same age as me here in Bowling Green. I had the dinner at my home in Louisville. My mother very graciously made my family’s favorite dinner for every one that was there.  This was to make sure that guests would not have to provide anything and would be able to just enjoy the evening.

Kylee, my sister, invited three of her friends that I had only met briefly in passing. The one girl invited was her friend Cate, who is her coworker at the library. They both work as clerks. Cate is a very liberal person and does not hesitate to share her views on anything, especially things that involve politics. Cate’s brother Bob was also invited. He has a lot of political views, but is often not as vocal about them as Cate. The last person she invited was her friend Brandon. He is an out gay man who she met through friends at school. My sister and my parents, Jon and Misty, were also there. My entire family is very conservative. My father is a southern Baptist preacher and my parents raised me and my sister very religiously.

When I talked to Kylee before the meal she said that Cate, Bob, and Brandon were very excited to meet our family and to participate in this project. The only thing that she mentioned in a negative way was that Brandon was not sure how my parents would react to him. I was interested to see how things unfolded. Knowing my parents, I know that while they have very strong views they are also very welcoming of anyone they meet. They like to get to know people’s stories. I knew that there would not be any issues even though there were would be several different views and beliefs presented that night.

This dinner happened to fall right around the same time as my sister’s birthday, so the conversations that took place early on were directed around that. We soon drifted into other subjects and had some very deep, meaningful conversations about current events. It became clear that there were several different opinions in the room. Everyone did a really good job of listening to others’ opinions and sharing their own viewpoints without chastising or belittling the other people in the room. We were able to have very good conversations and really learn about why people believe what they believe.

The way the conversation went reminded me of the reading How We Talk Matters. In that article we discussed the trend of people not listening to others when they talk about social or political issues and almost yelling and forcing their views on others. We also talked about how this trend is hurting society because no one will take the time to listen to others to gain an understanding about what they believe. This was not at all the case with this project. Everyone who was present really seemed interested in what others there had to say and were willing to think about things differently.

One of my favorite moments of the night actually happened after dinner was over. Cate, Bob, and Brandon stuck around after the meal and we all played Apples to Apples. At first it was just me, my sister, and her friends, the younger crowd. My parents were loading the dishes into the dishwasher and tidying up the kitchen. Toward the middle of the game my dad decided that he wanted to join in play. You could tell that Kylee’s friends were not sure how this was going to go and were afraid the fun we were having was about to be dampened by a middle age father wanting to play. They soon realized that my father was not easily offended, had a good sense of humor, and would play along with most anything that was happening. We spent a good part of the night playing different games and I think that was much more fun than the dinner itself was.

I think that this just goes to show that sometimes people defy your expectations. Sometimes you can find common ground in the funniest places with people you think may not except your way of life or agree with what you believe. I believe if more people realized this we would all be able to live better together, which is a key theme to this class. Also, the fact that my sister is such good friends with people who obviously believe very differently than her, shows that people can live in harmony if they are willing to work together and respect each other’s differences.

Overall this project was pretty fun. It was originally kind of hard to organize, and I had to change plans a several times for it to work out. An unexpected bonus, I believe that I gained three new friends out of it. It is so funny how you can hit it off with different people even if you think that you will probably only be acquaintances. Brandon and I ended up getting along really well and have stayed in contact since the project. To me, this new friendship is greater than any grade I might get for this project. I am glad that something that will hopefully last for a long time can blossom from an assignment that I wasn’t sure would be very fun. I hope that everyone else’s project went as well as mine did and I hope that classes in future semesters enjoy it as much as I did.

Zachary’s Kentucky Kitchen Table

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By Zachary

Our dinner consisted of myself, Abigail, and Cate at Nate’s house.  I arrived first and Nate began telling me about the different jobs he’d had throughout his life before he settled on teaching.  The transition he made that I thought was most interesting was how he went from working in a restaurant to being a food salesman.  He just changed who he was selling to food to.  Abigail and Cate arrived shortly after and we sat down and began chatting before we began to eat.  We all went around and briefly shared our major and where we are from.  I don’t recall Abigail and Cate’s majors but I know they were both in the sciences.  Abigail is a freshman who went to GSP before her senior year of high school and is from Kentucky.  Right now she is on a club cheer team in Bowling Green.  Cate is also from Kentucky and played volleyball in high school.  Next Nate began sharing with us.  He told us about his son and grandchildren and pointed out photos of them on his fridge.  He then proceeded to tell us about how he met his wife.  The story was very funny.  He was almost hit by someone driving a car and proceeded to flip them off.  The driver stopped and rolled down the window and he realized that he knew her.  From then on they hit it off pretty well and eventually he followed her to another school where they realized they had feeling for each other and began dating before eventually getting married.

Nate shared a lot of stories of us.  One that was particularly interesting was why he does not swim in the ocean anymore.  On him and his wife’s anniversary one year they were able to go snorkeling one day.  They began and he told us it was beautiful because of the amount of fish and how blue the water was.  But he was not able to stay in the water long.  Soon all the fish began swimming to him and nibbling on his body.  He told us how he immediately got swam up from there, got back in the boat, and did not got back in the ocean for the rest of their trip.  We began talking about this story after we talked about how Cate lived near a lake which prompted Nate telling us about why he can’t swim in the lake.  Another interesting story he told us was about how he helped teach a student in Germany about finding the volume of a cucumber by unconventional means.  He gave him a few ways to do it but the most interesting was dropping it into a body if water and then using the resulting displacement to find the volume of the cucumber.  He then took this way of learning and had his own high school class do it in class to make the whole experience more interesting and fulfilling for his students.

Around this point we began eating the dinner that Nate made for us.  It consisted of fried Italian style chicken, spaghetti with red sauce, corn, green beans, some rolls, and salad.  The food was delicious and was a great supplement to the conversation.  The conversation slowed a little bit as we began eating.  He told us that he has always enjoyed cooking and before his wife passed away.  He told us about some other meals he had prepared when he had friends over to play bridge.  He took particular pride in the Bourbon balls he had made for them.

As we finished our meal we began to have a more pointed conversation as Abigail began asking some questions from our guide.  This led to our most interesting conversation of the night.  Nate began telling us about his worldview, where it came from, how it informed the way he treated others, and how it informed his outlook on America.  He told us how he truly believes the most important thing that exists in how we interact is having respect and kindness for everyone, especially those we disagree with.  He said this worldview came partially from his faith but was informed largely from his time as a teacher.  He told us about seeing how LGBTQ kids were treated in his school and how he reached out to them to help them feel safe and wanted.  He opened up his room for lunch and they often came and ate in his room.  Because of this he is supports LGBTQ individuals but also understands how important it is to treat everyone with kindness.  The conversation moved towards deliberation and he told us how he went about talking to those he disagrees with on issues.  He emphasized how important having a base position of common ground was to having a civil conversation.  When a conversation began to become more hostile than he preferred he would bring them back to why they were friends in the first place.  This way of discussion leads to conversations that are productive and insightful instead of conversations that are just two people yelling their opinions at each other.

Without knowing it Nate had begun sharing his view on what I feel is the most important aspect of our class: how to have civil and productive conversations with those that stand opposite of us on issues.  While I feel we have learned a lot about deliberation during class, talking about outside of the class setting gave me an understanding of how important it is that is hard to gain in an academic setting.  Treating people that we think our wrong with the same respect we would want for our self only has positive outcomes.  The informal way he spoke of this was a perfect supplement to the formal way of learning we have in class.  Using deliberation while talking about abstract things in class is helpful to use, but talking about it in relation to “that guy on Facebook” gave it a realism that is hard to gain in a classroom setting.  As the conversation closed I was very glad to have had the chance to meet Nate and hear his stories and opinions.  He was able to put to words a lot of things I had felt about the election without being positive or negative toward either candidate.  The entire experience was a very positive one that I hope many students will get to experience in the future.

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My Kentucky Kitchen Table Experience

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By Tyler

I never really thought that I’d find myself at a stranger’s house for dinner, nor did it sound very appealing, but 10/10 would recommend. I’m more of an introvert and having conversations with people I don’t know makes me nervous. So I’m glad I was kind of forced to break out of my shell because I would never have done this on my own.

Kaylin, Amy, and I began our little journey using Google Maps to try and find where we were supposed to go. After a few wrong turns we finally made it only to realize there were two doors and we had no idea which to go in. After circling the house, we finally decided on a door because we could see people cooking through the window. When we walked in we were greeted by Alison’s dog, Hazel, and then Alison and Leila. Alison, our host, teaches in the English department at WKU. Leila was a guest also eating with us who teaches Citizen and Self at WKU. I guess I should also give a brief description about me and my classmates. I’m from a small town in Kentucky, Kaylin is from an even smaller town in Kentucky, and Amy grew up in a bigger town in Tennessee that neighbored an army base.

After introducing ourselves, Alison put us to work right away chopping vegetables and setting the table. I’m glad she gave us something to do to make the meal seem more like a team effort. We made small talk while doing so and once everything was ready, we took our plates and sat down to eat. I was starving and was super glad that we were having chicken tacos instead of some weird vegetarian food that Kaylin, Amy and I had joked about on our way there. We first talked about our majors and different little things about ourselves. Then Alison really got my attention when she told us about her college experience. She had originally gone to college with the goal of becoming a lawyer but then she got a random opportunity to go teach English in Japan. Since she had never gotten to study abroad, she took up this opportunity and ended up falling in love with it. She stayed for two years in Japan and went on to teach other countries as well. She dropped the idea of becoming a lawyer and became a teacher instead. Her advice to us was just try everything and jump at the random opportunities. This made me think of the Jane Addams reading for our class “Snare of Preparation.” We have to just throw ourselves into the world and not really think about it. We just have to actually do it.

As we were eating, Leila and Alison were guessing spices that were in each other’s dish. They both seemed to really like to cook and it wasn’t your normal everyday country cookin’. They knew a lot about different ethnic foods and seemed to have tried it all. Alison says she learned a lot of it from her experience in Japan. They gave us some suggestions for the best places to get sushi and told us to visit the salt cave in Bowling Green if we ever needed to clear up our sinuses.

We then decided we should probably ask the question of the day, “What does citizenship mean to you?” Leila laughed a little saying that she should have a good answer to it since she teaches the class and then Alison said that she thinks it means recognizing that everyone is dealing with something. I immediately started to wonder if she had sat in on one of our classes because those exact words have come up many times in our discussions about empathy and how to live better together. I was not expecting her to say something so dead on to what we have been discussing all semester. Honestly, I was expecting Leila to say something about it since she teaches the class, but she just agreed with Alison and added that we should always think about why a person is acting the way they are, maybe they’ve had a bad day, or maybe they weren’t brought up the same way we were. We had a small discussion about citizenship, much like ours in class, about putting ourselves in another person’s shoes.

We then got on the topic of dress codes at our high schools. We talked about how Amy and I had teachers that would sit at the door as we walked in to look at how we were dressed and make sure it was appropriate. We mentioned how guys were allowed to wear shorter clothes than us and then Leila made a comment about imagining if all of this time was spent teaching men about consent instead. This conversation eventually led into the talk about feminism. Amy mentioned how surprised she was by how few people stepped forward when asked if they were a feminist in the game we played in class. I have to be honest, I didn’t step forward in class because I thought that it meant that I got super offended when guys made jokes about women or got mad if a guy held a door open for me or something. I didn’t know that it actually just meant that you believe women should be equal to men. Someone mentioned that people just don’t know how to express themselves and Kaylin went on to tell a story about her boyfriend’s mom talking about how she didn’t believe in interracial marriage but eventually went on to say that she just didn’t want it for herself but she didn’t look down upon others who do it. Sometimes when people say things, they don’t actually mean what it sounds like. Sometimes things are definitely worth deliberating on.

We moved onto dessert, which consisted of cookies, Nutella, and goat caramel. After Alison said it tasted “goaty” I decided I would pass on that part of the dessert. However, everyone else seemed to really enjoy it. Alison offered us tea with rice in it and I decided that I should probably pass on that as well. As you can tell, I’m not very adventurous with the foods that I try. We wrapped up our conversations and said our goodbyes. Instead of the dreaded dinner that I had imagined, it ended up being my favorite part of this class. It’s not too often that you actually sit down at a dinner table and have a home-cooked meal filled with meaningful conversations, especially in college.

My Kentucky Kitchen Table

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By Katie

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The lovely people seated at the table are a few of my great friends and some of their friends. We are religiously similar but culturally, politically, and geographically diverse. Starting at the bottom, there is Savannah, she is my spunky friend who does not really care about political conversations, which was interesting to have her there and hear her input. To her left is Mary Margaret, she is blunt yet loving. Then there is me. To my left is Lee, he is also very blunt and conservative and an all around goofball. To his left is Nick, Nick is also conservative but mostly keeps to himself. The girl next to him is Ellie, she did not eat with us but wanted to join the picture. The male in the back is Jonathan, he is currently in training to be in the US Army. Next to him is Spencer, a firefighter. Then the male with the glasses is Connor, he is shy but speaks up when he finds something important. He came with Jonathan to our dinner. The male in the red sweatshirt is Ty. He is also very conservative and follows conservative beliefs when it comes to politics. Harrison is the last person in the bottom right corner with the grey and red Patagonia pullover. He is very opinionated and not very open minded when it comes to political topics.

At this dinner we discussed many different topics including sports, religion, the presidential election, what it means to be a citizen, our jobs and their purposes, our ideal futures, the status of our world today, and many other topics that could be considered irrelevant to this topic.

When I asked my friends what citizenship meant to them beyond voting and taxes, one of them said “Citizenship gives you a sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself. It gives you the rights and responsibilities that come with living in the greatest democracy in the world. It gives you the ability to be and do anything you want to do.” Just from reading that, one could gather that my friends are proud to be Americans. We also discussed the privileges American citizens have that other countries such as China do not have, especially privacy. We deliberated for a couple of minutes about the privacy in America. Although our government does not listen to what we say on the streets out in public through bugging traffic lights and things on the street, our government can view our computers and that was disturbing to us. Some brought up the notion that the government filters our technology to keep us safe from potential terrorists and people that can harm us.

The presidential election was also a hot topic at our dinner. A great number of people at the table sided with Trump on a few of his issues, especially with abortion. However, some of the girls were frightened by the idea of not being able to have control over their own bodies, but were conflicted with the idea of abortion because of their religious views on the right of life and who should be in control of such things. The boys brought up how Hillary was guilty and should be held accountable for the Benghazi deaths and that she cannot be trusted with our lives.

Since the major thing we all have in common is religion we also discussed how we should treat others based on our religious views. One of the main points brought up is that the changes in society are making Christians look hateful and ignorant. This really bothered us. We discussed homosexuality and the House Bill 2 in North Carolina. Since we are Christians, the Bible tells us to love one another and treat each other with respect, grace, and kindness. It also says that homosexuality is a sin and is wrong. Someone at the table said that if we (the government) condones people to use the bathrooms that they most identify with, it would almost be promoting homosexuality, bisexuality, etcetera. It is conflicting because we are called to love and not judge, but it is confusing on who is to draw the line because none of us here on earth are God, the ultimate judge.

We also discussed our experiences growing up in different families with different lifestyles. When I asked about family meals and eating at home, this is what one of my friends said, “I had meals with my family growing up but it wasn’t every night because we had really busy schedules. I really liked it and it made time together special.” One of my friends is a dancer and an athlete with three other siblings. She said her family rarely gets to eat dinner at home around their table and that their dinners mostly consist of drive through meals on the weekdays. Another friend of mine was only involved in the marching band at his school and ate dinner at home with his family almost every night. He enjoys the time spent together and the conversations but also wishes that his family would go out more often.

Being young adults, we of course discussed our jobs and the purpose behind them. One of my female friends that works in an office said this, “I see my job as serving a higher purpose. When I go to work I am earning money that is not just for myself. My money goes to support businesses, charities, and to support myself and my future family.” On the other hand, one of my friends has a rather wealthy family and has not had to work a steady part-time job other than working at a dress shop once a week. Since she has most of her needs taken care of by her parents, she does not feel the need to work. Unlike her, one of my male friends that is also wealthy has a strong work drive and works for things he wants and is already saving for his future. He plans to work in real estate, so he works for his father who is a real estate agent and builder, and for other builders in the community so he can get career related experience.

Another topic discussed was our plans for the future and future home life. Some of us want to live in neighborhoods where our children can play with their friends in the neighborhood while some of my friends want to live out in the middle of nowhere, where no one can bother them. I asked if any of them know or knew their neighbors growing up and one of my friends responded with this, “I also don’t really know my neighbors. I know their names and say hi to them when I see them, but we’ve lived by them my whole life but never really gotten to know them. I think it’s because life is so hectic and I don’t live in a neighborhood with a community atmosphere. And my neighbor may or may not deal drugs, that is also a factor.”

Through this assignment, I learned a lot about my friends that I would not have learned otherwise. I was somewhat concerned with how some of them are so closed minded when it comes to political issues and ways to deal with issues in our democracy. Our discussion at our meal related to the three questions of the class: How do we live together? How do we solve problems? How can people have more say over what their lives look like? Over all of those three questions, the one discussed the most was how we live together.

I think this assignment was very unique and interesting. I got to meet people and also meet my friends I already had on a deeper level. We discussed many things that would not usually be discussed in a normal gathering. Some of the topics made people feel uncomfortable, but it was good because people were able to form opinions and learn how to express themselves.

Debating with class

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By Kaitlyn

Brooke and I held our Kentucky Kitchen Table project at a house here in Bowling Green, Kentucky. A sorority sister of Brooke’s opened her home to us and her mother agreed as long as everyone supplied a dish for the meal. I contributed by making the macaroni and cheese that can be seen to the right of the picture. Brooke made the shredded steak and banana pepper mix. Three of my sorority sisters (Alpha Omicron Pi’s) brought a vegetable and cheese plate and three of Brooke’s sorority sisters (Kappa Delta’s) brought rolls and cheese slices. The mother of the home also chipped in by making pumpkin cheesecake brownies that we were able to enjoy after dinner. You can see all of the food and most of the people in the photos below (the brownies were still baking).

Brooke and I both (as noted above) had invited three women from each of our sororities to the dinner. Along with our sorority sisters, the mom of the house and her youngest daughter were in accompaniment as well, Kelli and Allison. Kelli is the mom of Brooke’s sorority sister, Caroline. She is a middle-aged woman and is a pharmacist here in Bowling Green. Kelli is an alumna of WKU. Through speaking with Kelli we learned that she is a Christian woman and doesn’t claim a particular denomination. Kelli is a registered Democrat and grew up in Harlan County. In further discussion about Harlan, we learned that it’s a poor area in Eastern Kentucky and growing up in this area she was from a family with little means. Kelli was a first generation college student. Kelli’s youngest daughter Allison is currently a junior in High School. She has grown up in a middle class family in Bowling Green, Kentucky. We questioned Allison about her political views, but she is too young to register and hasn’t quite made up her mind yet on which political party she sides more with. When discussing her faith, she explained that she is still discovering her faith and wishes to explore different denominations once she comes to college. Allison is undecided on what major she will choose when coming to college and has yet to decide where she would like to attend. Having a younger perspective, especially one from a very unbiased party was a nice addition to the conversation and at times helped us all see the issues we were discussing from a, sort of, birds eye view.

The three sorority women I invited were a few of my sorority sisters that Brooke hadn’t met before, Brittany, Sarah, and Haleigh. Brittany is a senior here at WKU and is from Versailles, Kentucky and is majoring in social work. Brittany says that she would describe her socioeconomic status as upper class. When asked she said that she identifies with the Republican Party and is Southern Baptist.

Sarah is a junior at WKU and is from Franklin, Kentucky. Sarah is majoring in elementary education and describes her socioeconomic status as lower-middle class. She identifies as a member of the Democratic Party and is a nondenominational Christian.

Haleigh is a senior at WKU and is from Glasgow, Kentucky. Haleigh states that her family is upper class. Haleigh is in the process of applying to law schools. She identifies with the Republican Party and is a member of the Church of Christ.

Brooke’s guests were some of her sorority sisters that I had never met before, the Kelli’s oldest daughter, Caroline, along with Christa, and Madison. Caroline is a junior at WKU. Caroline is working on a double major in biology and psychology with a pre-physician’s assistant concentration. Caroline is a member of the Honors college here at WKU. When asked, Caroline explained that she identifies as having independent political beliefs. She said that she has liberal social beliefs, but conservative beliefs regarding government policies. She grew up in the same family as Allison, a middle class family in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Caroline identifies as a Christian and seems to fit in best with the Presbyterian denomination.

Christa is a freshman and is also in the Honors college at WKU. Christa is working on a major in biology and is from Louisville, Kentucky. When asked Christa describes her family as upper class and says she is a devout Catholic as well as very conservative. She is a registered Republican.

Madison is a sophomore and a member of the Honors college at WKU as well. Madison is majoring in finance as well as accounting. Madison grew up in Northern Kentucky and describes her family as lower class. Her residual check from the university is the means she uses in order to pay for her sorority dues. Madison identifies with the Democratic Party and describes herself as spiritual rather than religious.

Overall, there was a decent amount of diversity at our table. As you can see from above, the political parties were split about half and half between the Republican party and the Democratic party. Plus, we had the generational diversity which gave us a nice range from the host, someone who had been around and seen different things then the college students at the table did, as well as having a younger viewpoint with the host’s daughter. I truly enjoyed having the different generations represented at dinner because the generation diversity gave a different take on every aspect of the conversation. In regards to diversity of religion, most of our group were Christians, however there was diversity in the denominations that everyone associated themselves with which allowed for some diversity in conversation.

The dinner went very smoothly for the most part. I think this was in large part due to the way Brooke and I approached the dinner. Brooke and I began the dinner by explaining the purpose of the project and set the tone for the dinner by laying out some guidelines. There were three guidelines: 1. We would all remain respectful of others’ opinions and beliefs, 2. No one would be required to share if they felt in any way uncomfortable doing so, and 3. Brooke and I reserved the right to change the topic of conversation if we felt that the conversation was deteriorating and was no longer productive. Throughout the dinner the guidelines never had to be referenced, however I think they set the tone for the dinner and helped all of us stay on track with our discussions.

Our opening question for the dinner was, “Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you?” After a few minutes of thinking discussion began. The participants at the table were all in agreement that a good citizen is one who goes through their everyday duties, but always goes that one step further. A good citizen is the one who truly takes an interest in their neighbors as people and plays a role in helping them and the community however they can. I then asked the question, why do we all think that this is how a good citizen should act? It seemed unanimous that the women in the room were stemming their answers from their Christian roots. They were all thinking in the aspect of living for Christ. From there, Brooke questioned the group about the extension of the radius of support they were discussing in regards to the good citizen. Who in the group seemed to view it more locally and who viewed it more globally? The women who lived in cities, Christa and Allison, seemed to think of themselves as more global citizens and when asked couldn’t tell us much about their neighbors, however, Madison and Haleigh who were from more rural areas knew a lot about their neighbors and had developed those personal connections and saw themselves as more local citizens. Sarah, was the outlier, being from Franklin we would have assumed she may see herself as more of a local citizen, but when asked she described herself as a global citizen and said she attributed this to her mission work that she had done in Haiti. Spending time in Haiti changed Sarah’s viewpoints on citizenship and she thinks that we should help where we can whenever we can. Sarah brought a different aspect to the table with her experience abroad and I think everyone enjoyed hearing her perspective.

The next hot topic of our discussion was the presidential election. Our dinner was hosted the week prior to elections and it seemed that everyone was slightly more edgy about this topic. We had a multitude of varying viewpoints in the room which gave us an in-depth debate, however, Brooke and I steered the conversation towards what each person in the room wanted America to be and who of the candidates in the running could achieve those desires. Caroline began this discussion and explained that she saw an America that had expanded rights for all citizens, no matter the race, sexual orientation, etc. Christa took her turn after Caroline and described her America as extremely conservative. After discussing for a bit it was clear that we were not going to be able to come to an agreement about which candidate could give America what it needed nor could we agree on what exactly it was we thought America should look like. Many questions were then posed such as, how can we make America better when a better America looks different for each of us? If this is how divided a group of ten of us are, imagine how divided this country is. Is our country ever going to be united? Is the division of our country going to get worse every year? How will that effect coming elections? Kelli shared her experience over the years and explained that there had been awful elections in the past and yet, we were still standing. This made us all feel a little better and then sent us into a topic of discussion about the media and how this election may just seem worse than others due to the medias involvement. One conversation led to another and soon enough I realized we had been discussing different topics for almost two hours and we all decided it was about time to head home.

Through this project I learned how important it is to be open-minded and to not judge a book by its cover, or even its overview. The women in this house looked similar to me, and had similar religious beliefs, and most went to the same school and were also in sororities, however, not one of these women had the exact same viewpoints as me. We all varied in ideals and what we thought was best, but we all listened and respected one another’s opinions. We all practiced being open-minded. This dinner and these conversations gave me an insight on what deliberation can achieve when done right. In the atmosphere we all created, everyone’s voice could be heard and was honestly considered. In Melville’s, “How We Talk Matters,” a reading for our class, he states, “Talk is the essential ingredient of politics. It not only shapes decisions, it shapes us – our thinking, and our understanding of ourselves and others, our way of dealing with conflict and differences.” What Melville is saying here is exactly what we put into practice at this dinner. Talking is a way of understanding one another and a way of figuring out our differences. I think that if our country was able to talk the way Melville describes talking, then maybe, just maybe America could get on the right track. This project was very enjoyable and I truly learned so much about myself and the new friends I made at our dinner. I hope that I can continue my life practicing the art of talking and actively listening that was shown to me during our discussions at our Kentucky Kitchen Table and within this class.