By Seth

I conducted my Kentucky Kitchen Table on April 14th in Bowling Green kentucky with five other people. Carter is a junior at South Warren High School and is involved in the school’s FFA chapter, the bowling team, and the music/ marching band program. Pauline and William are from Tompkinsville Kentucky where William is running for major. They spend a lot of their time interacting with the community and are well known in the town. Keely, my little sister, is currently a middle school student that has played three years of recreational soccer and has an interest in being a psychologist when she is older. Chris, my father, has been a high school drafting teacher at the new vocational in Logan Kentucky for nineteen years. The largest diversity among the group lies in the difference of age; each person at the table represents a different generation which is extremely valuable for discussion because it includes the opinions and experiences of each generation. Interestingly, the three oldest members also differ in their political party affiliation; William is registered as a democrat while Chris is a libertarian and Pauline is a republican. This is also a great opportunity for the discussion as it is interesting how the three main political parties’ values are represented in each person’s comments and how they might differ from the other two parties.

After the introduction of each person I opened the discussion by asking the question “Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you?”. The majority of the responses were not surprising as most everyone responded with answers such as being there for their fellow citizens when they struggle and having the mentality of reaching your full potential for the sake of the society. Carter mentioned something insightful about knowing where you fit into the community; the main idea being that the most you can do as a citizen is to find where you are most needed and do everything in your power to do the best in that position knowing you owe that to your community. The most surprising response to that question was from William who stated that much of being a citizen is the ability to move forward despite the hardship that the government will put on you. This was a shocking comment mainly because William is running for major in Tompkinsville, therefore, led me to believe that this was precisely the reason to run in the first place; he wants to try to reduce the strain that authority puts on his fellow citizens by being that authority himself. In his situation and response to the question, William represents what many of us strive to be as citizens and I am very proud to know him.  

After we discussed the required question we moved on to more specific issues such as gun control, the opioid epidemic, and the death penalty. While we were discussing these issues I noticed the main theme in regards as to why these problems are so difficult to solve was believed to be that the majority of the people are not directly connected to the problem and that when they are it is extremely polar to one side which can get in the way of solving the problem from both sides. Chris mentioned for example that the reason that the opioid epidemic is such a powerful problem comes from the fact that not enough people are invested through genuine knowledge and experience to the problem and therefore do not work to solve it. The table seemed to agree that the big obstacle in trying to solve these problems comes from the ignorance of the people about the entirety of the problem.

I mentioned the issue of trying to solve problems when information is incomplete and people are misinformed due to lack of exposure to the problem and asked them to balance the benefit of immediate action and drawback of haste with the benefit of deeper investigation and drawback of delayed action to these problems such as gun control and the opioid epidemic. The consensus of the table seemed to be conditional based on the social issue at hand which reflected the main ideas of wicked problems; there are characteristics that define a wicked problem and many social issues are categorized as wicked problems but ultimately wicked problems are unique to each other. This is the most formidable characteristic of wicked problems making the answer to one of the three main questions of the class, how do we solve problems, indefinite. The answer to that question is frustrating because it is conditional and as humans seeking answers to similar yet unique problems we hate it when we cannot generalize.

Due to the diversity of the table regarding age, I thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss our thoughts about how our generations have become connected. I was curious about what we thought about each other and wanted to see the degree at which society in general has changed through the point of view of Pauline and William. I started off by asking about the  amount major issues in this generation’s society and how they might compare to the amount of social issues seen in the older generations. I was not surprised to see that Pauline and William thought that, with time, the amount of major social issues within the nation has increased substantially. When we discussed why more problems arise in this generation it was interesting what Chris noted. He claimed that it might not be that this generation has more problems but instead it might actually be that with the advancements in technology, transportation, and various communication methods that we are simply more aware of the many social issues facing our nation. So with this I thought that maybe our country is much more united and informed than the older generation. We discussed this a little further and I found that the degree of unity probably has not changed in amount but rather in form. The older generations seemed to be more unified in the sense of local community while the younger generations gradually became more detached from their local society and more unified with the bigger more general aspects of society. When I asked why, William responded by crediting this to the advancement in technology and medicine. He claimed that with all these advancements, the individual can do more for themself and will not have to rely on the diversity of their local community for as much help.

With everything that was discussed, the project was a fun opportunity to get connected with people in the community and discuss the way in which we see our community’s characteristics and issues. It was a great chance to become a bigger part in each other’s lives thus unifying the community even more. I was able to take away many themes from the conversations, not the least of which was how we tend to believe that we have too many differences to overcome a shared problem and how this cannot be further from the truth. I noticed this because before the dinner I was under the notion that much of the discussion would be saturated with debate and differences due to three distinctly different political parties being present along with such a polar generation gradient. My initial judgement was quickly extinguished when we found each other agreeing on many actions that could be taken to solve social issues such as gun control and the opioid epidemic. I was thoroughly surprised with the conversation and came up with the idea that, in the face of extreme social issues, in order to come up with any plan of action, we must overcome our differences in opinion to come up with a solution. While the dinner table is not the way large scale society functions, it did give a small scale example about how we must interact with one another to advance in the right direction.

The focus I had in this Kentucky Kitchen Table was based upon wicked problems; I was curious to see how other people viewed wicked problems and attempted to dissect them. Much of the conversation reflected exactly what we learned in class about wicked problems; we could not attempt to solve them without drawbacks, there was a struggle to find a solution for every side of the problem, and actions could not be expected to work without trying to change the opinions of others which also reflected what we learned about communicating with each other. Throughout the discussion the three main questions of the course were starting to be answered when I looked at the effects the project had on the table. The answer, while it may be incomplete, was very clear once the project had concluded and was surprisingly simple. The answer is rooted in what the project was; the answer is communication, deliberation, discussion, and participation. When we apply these things to something larger than the dinner table we will start to see progress. The progress that is made once we do this on large scale is progress that involves everyone. The experience, ideas, beliefs, and knowledge of everyone afflicted by a social issue is able to be presented and utilized once we participate together. With this in mind, the answer to the three main questions of this course results in the most complicated wicked problem I have encountered. How do we get everyone involved in society through communication, deliberation, discussion, and participation? Once we answer this wicked problem, progress will result beyond the kitchen table.

By Callie

My name is Callie and my Kentucky’s Kitchen Table project took place in Bowling Green, Kentucky on April 14, 2018. There were six people present at the dinner including myself. Because my immediate family lives in three separate states, I decided to do my project with two of my closest friends who are like family to me, and three other people I had never met before. All of us come from different families and different cities. We have roots in five different states.

Ramon is 20 years old and is a nutritionist for the Army. He lives on base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky but is from Williamsburg, Virginia. He is African American but was raised by both a white family, who adopted him, and his black family. As a kid, he grew up in poverty until his best friend’s family took him in at age fifteen and provided him financial stability. Now that he has a stable career, he is able to send money back home to his siblings who live with his grandparents.

Michael is 22 and he is also a nutritionist in the Army and lives on base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Last year, he served nine months in Kuwait. In a few weeks, his contract will be up and he will switch from active duty to reserves. He is moving back home to Chicago, Illinois to study to become a nurse practitioner. He would prefer a practical career that will earn him a lot of money, rather than one that he feels passionate about.

Kayshla is from Texas and goes to WKU. She is mixed, Puerto Rican and Caucasian. She is 22 and has one more year of college. She is studying Communication and Leadership with hopes of working with the Special Olympics. She has a passion for helping people and making a difference in the lives of others. Kayshla is also a strong Christian and strives to model that in the way she treats others.

Chelsea is 25. She wants to work with children with intellectual disabilities and learn how to improve their learning processes in the most effective ways. She wants to help these children improve their skills in order for them to perform efficiently. Chelsea has a big heart and strives to help others in any way possible.

Lindsey is 21 and is from Somerset, Kentucky. She attends WKU where she is majoring in Electrical Engineering and Meteorology and minoring in Systems Engineering and Mathematics. She wants to be a satellite or radar engineer.

Finally, I am 19 years old and studying Exercise Science and Entrepreneurship. I am originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina but now call both Louisville, Kentucky and Norfolk, Virginia home. I am working to create and own my own gym and am currently studying to get my personal training certification. I believe very strongly in creating a life you love and never settling for a job and lifestyle that do not make you excited to get out of bed every morning.

To begin the night, we all gathered in the kitchen. Instead of all bringing separate dishes, we decided to cook together and combine the dinner with a game night. Kayshla and Lindsey made lasagna with veggies while Ramon and Chelsea made pizza because they didn’t want lasagna. Michael and I made cookie brownies for dessert.

I started the conversation by asking the required question, “Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you?” Everyone had pretty similar answers for this question with a focus on putting others above ourselves and helping out those in need. This was one of the biggest themes of our conversation.

I was really excited to talk to Ramon and Michael because I was curious about the effects of the Army on their viewpoints. To dig into this, I asked, “How does being in the army affect the way you view the world today?” They looked at each other with wide eyes and the conversation seemed to shift away from the light-hearted mood we had before. Michael said that the current president in office has a lot of the men and women serving our country on their toes. He said that with the recent Syria bombing, while most regular citizens take the topic a little lighter, everyone in the military immediately grew fearful of being deployed. Ramon who plans to get out of the Army as soon as his contract is up, cut in and said, “If World War III were to happen, we’d be gone,” suggesting that the military would deploy everyone. He also said that many people are indifferent about decisions involving the nation’s military and fail to realize that every number is a soldier’s life and every soldier has friends and family whose lives would also be drastically affected if they were deployed.

Michael added that he feels like the president is looking at a map and deciding a location to bomb without considering the fact that there are innocent families living there. He said that to the president, it’s entirely political and he seems to care so little about the aftermath. Michael said, “I hate that I’m technically apart of that and associated with the death of innocent kids.”

When they brought this issue up, it reminded me of “Green Fire, the Still Point, and an Oak Grove,” by Robert Hass. I took a minute to explain this reading to everyone at the table. All of us agreed that people tend to speak on issues without knowing all of the facts. In the case of the bombing of Syria, Michael and Ramon felt that some people were quick to support the president’s decision without taking in consideration the effects that it could have on innocent Syrian families and the United States Military.

Next I asked everyone what kind of person they wanted to be. I was afraid everyone at the table would say similar things, such as “I want to be kind to others,” but this question ended up sparking the most moving response of the conversation. I asked everyone to go in a circle and respond. When it was Ramon’s turn, he said that he wanted to be a person who lived every second of his life to the fullest. At age nine, Ramon lost his 26 year old mom to a severe heart condition. It made him realize that every day he is alive is precious because he is getting closer and closer to the age his mom lost her life. He was also born with heart issues which can sometimes scare him because he knows the next day is never promised. He then said that even saying this aloud made him want to get out of his routine because his biggest fear is living an average life.

The last question I asked was which social issue is most important to everyone. This question was super important to me because we as individuals cannot give our all to resolving each and every social issue but we can pick one or two and make it our passion to change it.

Ramon started by saying that the most important issue to him is racial inequality, and more specifically, police brutality. He said he cares so much about it because he feels like we as a country are not making progress with race issues. He said something to the effect of, “No one should be treated like that, it’s not righteous at all. I am scared because that could be my little sister or brother.”

Chelsea agreed with Ramon and said that she believes while we as a country have gotten better in many ways, she thinks it has been 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. She also brought up gun violence which has been so prevalent in our society recently. She said she thinks there are a lot of things we need to change.

Kayshla added that she believes change starts with teaching our children right from wrong. She believes that loving each other more and helping out those who need it will help us unite as a country.

Michael said that while he agrees that we need more love in the world, he also thinks there are more practical steps to making change. He said that we as a society need to continue bringing social issues to light and speak out when we don’t agree with something.

I agreed with Michael and added that many people are unwilling to understand other people’s point of view and need to practice the act of listening. I emphasized the importance of deliberation to finding common ground with wicked problems.

Lindsey was the last person to speak on the issue and said that she has never been asked this question and it made her realize that although she cares a lot about certain issues, she is doing nothing to change or improve them. She didn’t know exactly what was the most important issue to her.

Lindsey’s realization reminded us of the importance of making meaningful conversation with the people around us. Too often, we hardly scratch the surface even with the people we are closest with. Many times, they are willing to share the hardships they’ve experienced if we just get the courage to ask.

This project gave me the opportunity to not only meet new people but also grow as a person. I have many family members who have experienced interesting things, like war, poverty, divorce, disease, etc. that I am always hesitant to ask about, as they might be sensitive subjects. However, this project made me realize that I can learn a lot very quickly about people and the world if I am simply willing to ask questions and listen. This project inspired me to cut the small talk with my family and friends and dig deeper into what makes them the way they are today.

By Ashley

My Kentucky Kitchen Table took place in my home in the small town of Leitchfield, Kentucky. Leitchfield is in Grayson County and is about an hour drive away from Bowling Green. My dinner took place on April 15, 2018 after church. There were six people at my kitchen table not including myself. The names of the people around my table are (from left to right of me in the green dress): Henry Thomas (first and middle name), Steve, Mac, Bob, and Claire and my mother, Lisa, who chose not to be in the picture. I asked these individuals to my table because I had grown up being friends with Claire and had always gone to church with her family, but thought that this would be a great opportunity to get to know them better. First and foremost, my name is Ashley. I am pre-medicine and majoring in chemistry and minoring in biology. While I currently have enough college credit hours to be almost a junior status, it is my first year attending Western Kentucky University. Henry Thomas, known as “H.T.” to everyone, is a 93-year-old veteran who served in World War II and received a purple heart for getting shot in the arm while serving in Germany. Steve is a retired farmer who has three beautiful grandchildren that he loves with all of his heart. Mac is also a farmer who although had a stroke a while back, still does everything that he can to ensure that his farm stays functioning. Bob is the father of Claire; he is currently working at a law office, but also worked part time at the fire department in the past. Claire is a second-year medical school student at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and is currently thinking of specializing in a field rather than becoming a family physician. Lastly, my mother, Lisa, is a high school social studies teacher at the only high school in the county, Grayson County High School.

For our meal, my mother helped me make chicken, vegetables, and bread. Claire’s family brought a chocolate cake for us to have for dessert. Overall, while everyone at the table grew up either on a farm or around a farm and shared similar beliefs, they all shared unique perspectives on each topic brought up during the dinner. When asked what citizenship meant to them, the reply of Henry Thomas stood out the most to me mostly because of his respectable military past. Henry Thomas said, “To me citizenship is more than just abiding by the law and voting in yearly elections; it is showing that you are devoted enough to the privilege of freedom that you are willing to take time to do something for someone else. Whether it be a huge commitment like serving your country, or simply helping someone through community service, practicing citizenship is the concept of serving others before yourself.” Claire also agreed to the statement made by her grandfather adding that the concept of helping others is what drove her towards wanting to become a physician. It was never the thought that she may be financially well off, she wanted to spend her life making a difference in other people’s lives. My mother added that ever since she was a little girl she knew that she wanted to choose a career in which she could help others, so when she told her family that she was choosing to be a teacher, it was no surprise to them. Moreover, like his father Henry Thomas, Bob also had experience risking his life to ensure the safety of others by fighting fires, but he made the point to add that more individuals should contribute to local organizations that help the county run like the fire department.

Furthermore, when I asked the table what social issue is closest to their heart and why, each individual provided me with unique sides to each issue. My mother, Lisa, said that children going hungry and without love were two of the biggest things that bothered her each year as a teacher. My mother is unique in the fact that at the start of each week she asks students about their weekends each Monday through their bellwork and she always takes the time to read through each response and write at least a paragraph back. She said that we could not even begin to imagine the things that students had admitted to enduring over the two short days that they weren’t in school. She said the really sad thing is that students readily told her what their situations were, but no one else gave them that opportunity so often times those stories stayed bottled up. Over the course of her years she has been able to help many children, but she knows that there are always far more that she never gets to reach. Whenever Henry Thomas answered the question he related it to veterans and how they are treated when they come back from war. Living it first hand, whenever Henry Thomas came back from World War II, he struggled to be himself again for a long time and did not even think about seeking mental help. He believes now that there is factual evidence that post dramatic stress disorder is something that veterans suffer from, that each individual who served no matter how old, should have free access to services because even at 93 years old he still has flashbacks. When Claire answered the question about which social issue was close to her heart she answered that parents vaccinating their children was one that constantly bothered her. Since entering the medical field, Claire has seen first-hand the effects of what has happened since parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children. Diseases that were once thought eradicated have been coming back and it all due to the fact that some parents are choosing against getting vaccinations that would protect their children and others. Claire believes that the choice should be taken out of the parents’ hands and that all children should be vaccinated in order to not only protect the health of the individual child, but everyone else’s child as well.

Overall what I learned from the dinner was that even if individuals grow up with the same background such as Claire’s family, they can all hold different opinions and values on issues. I had known that Henry Thomas had served in World War II, but after hearing some of the things that he endured and seeing that he still turned out to be the person that he is today, I respected him immensely. I also strive to have a husband that loves me as much as he loves his late wife, Betty Jo. They were married for 65 years, and although she has been gone for over two years now due to Alzheimer’s Disease, he still talks about her like she is the best thing that ever happened to him.  I also was not aware that Bob served as a volunteer fire fighter. Hearing some of the stories about how he barely made it out of burning homes also gave me a new-found respect for him. Moreover, although I have grown up hearing my mother’s stories all of my life I felt so proud to call her my mother hearing her talk about how passionate she was about helping the youth of our community.

My dinner relates to what we learned in our class because we often talked about whether or not we have a duty to help others, and each of the individuals at my table believed that yes; we do have a duty to help others when we have the means. Whenever talking to both my mother and Claire and her family, I was reminded of Jane Addams writings. In her writings, Jane expressed  how she, like the individuals at my table, believed that people should stop coming up with excuses and start serving others. Furthermore, my dinner also related to one of the central themes of the class: how can we live better together (or at least less worse together)? This was seen as every single one of the individuals at my table was/is able to make a difference in the world by working to not just benefit themselves, but others. Whether it be through serving their community or country, providing food for their family and others, teaching the next generation, or helping to improve the health of others, everyone makes the world a little more colorful by adding their splash of uniqueness.

In conclusion, I thought that this was a very interesting assignment in the sense that not only did I get to enjoy a delicious meal and dessert, but I also got to get to know a wonderful family who have each made it their mission in life to help serve others. I hope in the future I can do this again, not for the purpose of an assignment, but to get to know the stories of more and more individuals that I otherwise would not have the opportunity to do so.