By Megan

My Kentucky Kitchen Table took place at my house in Bowling Green, KY on November 6. Nine people attended the dinner including myself, my parents, Josh and Karen, my brothers, Seth and Thad, my distant cousin, Caroline, and two people who attend my church, Anna and Brock. This group of people displayed generational, experience, educational, and class diversity, which led to many interesting conversations and learning experiences.

Introductions

I am an 18 year-old freshman at WKU majoring in Biochemistry. I was born and raised in Warren County and live with my parents and two brothers. I participate in SRHA and AED on campus and was on the academic team in high school.

My parents, Josh and Karen, are both teachers and in their 40s. Josh works at elementary/middle school in Logan county as a P.E. teacher. He also coaches the girls volleyball, boys basketball, and girls basketball teams. He was born and raised in a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona and went to college in Florida. He also regularly participates in our worship services. Karen works as a part-time math teacher at WKU. Additionally, she teaches Bible classes at our church and volunteers with both of my brothers schools. She was born and raised here in Warren County and attended WKU.

My brothers, Seth and Thad, attend public school. Seth is a 10th grader in high school who plays football and is in band. Thad is a 6th grader in elementary school who plays basketball and is in band. Both boys share similar interests and spend many weekends mowing lawns for extra money. Seth also regularly participates in our worship services.

Anna is a 12th grader in high school and one of my best friends. In school, she participates in band and 4H. She plans in attend WKU next year, but is unsure about her major. She lives in Warren County with her parents and three siblings.

Of the group, Caroline and Brock are the two that I know the least. Caroline is my distant cousin and, even though she lives in town, my family and I do not get to see her very often. She is a 20 year-old junior at WKU majoring in English with a Political Science minor. She is originally from Lawrenceburg, Kentucky where she lives with her parents and two siblings. Brock lives in Warren County with his mother. He is a 19 year-old part-time student at the local community college and works part-time for a welding company.

Our dinner included chicken pockets, roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, carrot casserole, cooked apples, wheat rolls, peanut butter pie, chocolate cake, and cookie dough cheese ball. My mom always cooks way to much food. After we started dinner, I asked the first question, “Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you?” This question had a variety of interesting answers. I said that staying informed was important so that you would be a responsible voter. Caroline added that just generally being kind to others was a crucial component. Anna included that taking care of your land made the community a more beautiful place. One of my brothers mentioned jury duty. Brock mentioned the right to bear arms. The others in the group echoed our thoughts.

The Requirements of Citizenship: Jury Duty and the Draft

We then discussed the required components for citizenship. We mainly discussed jury duty as my mom served on a murder trial when she was eighteen and my dad had recently been called for jury duty. This part of the discussion was mostly informational, but my mom’s jury experience attested to many different aspects of citizenship. In the murder trial she had served on, the defendant had pled guilty, but his attorney argued for a lesser sentence because the defendant’s judgement had been impaired by his drug use at the time of the murder. However, the defendant had given a false name shortly before the murder took place, proving that he was already aware that his drug use could get him in trouble. This led to a general discussion about how to be a good jury member by paying attention to all the details of a trial in order to give a fair ruling.

Additionally, we briefly discussed signing up for the draft, and whether or not females should be required to do this. Brock had signed up for the draft recently and my brothers will have to in the future. Caroline did not believe females should be required to sign up for the draft as she felt that many women, including herself, would not want to join the armed forces. Although I am sure many women would not want to be drafted, I am also sure that many men did not want to drafted, but it was required of them. We did not discuss the subject much further as we all felt that it was unlikely that the draft would be reconstituted.

Safety in the Community

In addition to talking about jury duty and the draft, we also spent a lot of time discussing safety in the community. This discussion was prompted by the questions “What kind of community do you want to live in?” and “What is the thing you love most about living where you do?” Safety was the unanimous answer to both of these questions; however, it was interesting to see why the members felt that our community was safe. My mom, Caroline, Anna, and I all felt the Bowling Green area was filled with good people and that our safety is determined by the quality of our neighbors. Brock felt safe because he knows that he and many of his neighbors owned guns as protection. It was interesting to see how the collective power of the community was what made us feel safe, but we differed on whether this was due to the communities offensive or defensive behavior.

Religious Influence on Citizenship

As everyone at the table identified as a Christian, we had some discussion how our religion influences our citizenship. We all agreed that Christianity had led to our appreciation for the sanctity of human life, which influenced how we treat others and how we judge others actions. Our religious identity also influenced how we answered the question, “What advice would you give to people running for office in our country?” Everyone wanted officials who appreciated moral standards and stood up for what they believed in, even if there beliefs were unpopular. We also agreed that these qualities were hard to find in leaders today.

This part of the discussion reminds me of the article we read in class titled  “If It Feels Right…” by David Brooks. Everyone at the table wanted to elect leaders who had distinct moral standards, yet young people today have none. If it is difficult to find moral leaders now, it will be even more difficult to find moral leaders in the future when the young generation starts running for offices. The points brought by in my kitchen table discussion agree with David Brooks’ points because morality has become undefined in today’s society.

Election Day and Marsy’s Law

Our final point of discussion happened while we were cleaning up after the meal. Caroline asked if anyone had voted for Marsy’s Law. She had heard a radio announcer explain the problems with Marsy’s Law due to its current wording. Brock agreed with her and said that the current law would end up giving rights to criminals. However, my mom and dad both stated that they hoped the law would be rewritten to specifically give rights to victims and their families as the original law had intended. Everyone of course agreed that this would be the best action as the current law is written in very broad terms.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed this assignment and the discussion we had as a group. I thought our discussion brought up some interesting points about the one of the central questions for Honors 251 “How can people live better (or, at the least, less badly) together?”. We all wanted a safe community that protected the good and punished the evil. In order to live better together, we each needed to take actions to create a safer community, whether that be by encouraging a safer community or protecting ourselves. We also felt that stronger moral standards would create a better community. Finally, we wanted to enact laws that protected the victims instead of the criminals so that the victims can live “at the least, less badly” after they have had crimes committed against them.

In conclusion, we each have a responsibility to make the world a better place. Each person at the table was trying to do this in some way. My mom and dad are teachers of the next generation, Brock helps build stronger structures and equipment, and Anna, Caroline, Seth, Thad, and myself are all trying to be good students so that we can use our education to make the world a better place. In end, we are each just individuals, and we cannot make large changes on our own; we must rely on the collective power of each other and our communities to make the world a better place.

By Bailey 

My KKT took place in Bowling Green on Sunday, November 18. I was invited to attend a Thanksgiving dinner held by the family of one of my friends. My friend, Madison, told me that her family would love to take part in the discussion, so I decided that this setting would be a great place to conduct a KKT. There would be several people attending that I would not know, and there would be diversity among ages and stages of life.

Madison’s family hosted the dinner. They include Gina and Eddie, Madison’s parents;  Madison’s brother, Chase, and and his wife, Megan; and Sue, Madison’s grandmother. Gina is very kind and thoughtful. She finds joy in taking care of others, especially her family. Eddie does not speak unless he has somethings meaningful to say, but his words always bring valid points to the discussion. Chase is like his father in that he doesn’t demand attention, but he and Megan offer a family’s perspective from the modern world. Sue is very wise, and she humbly shared her wisdom with us as she spoke. Madison is kind-hearted like Gina, and her love for others allows her to give selflessly to those around her.

I opened up the discussion with the main question, “What does citizenship mean to you?” Most of the responses included involvement in the community. We talked about the importance contributing to the betterment of your community and the impact it has both on your own life and the lives of those around you. Gina offered another interesting response. She said that citizenship means that you are working towards the common good. The common good means that your are not focusing on your own interests, but recognizing and working for the interests of others. We all agreed with Gina’s statement, and then I began asking more questions stemming off of the main question. Chase and Megan said that the best thing in our world today is our ability to communicate with so many people across the globe. They said that with this communication, we can build a stronger global community by exchanging ideas. With so many different kinds of people with different experiences and lives, our ability to communicate with each other through technology helps us to understand and learn from each other. Sue said that the people who do good for the world without recognition are the best thing about our world today. There is so much in our world that needs good, and fame and glory can often get in the way of the good we can do. When asked how she thought her job relates to her role as a citizen, Madison said that her job is very customer-based, and that her main focus throughout the day is helping others. Referring back to what Gina said about citizenship, Madison said that service to others is one of her responsibilities, and that her job allows her to fulfil that responsibility. She said that she tries each day to encourage and uplift the people she encounters each day at her work. Eddie said that we have an obligation to treat our community members fairly and with respect. He said that it is important to be considerate of others’ needs and backgrounds even though they may be different from our own. Megan said that she wants to be a person who spreads positivity. She said that she wants to be the person that people can come to if they need help, and she wants to be someone who stands up for good. Sue advised those who are in government office to always remember the image of who they are representing. She said that political leaders are held at such a high standard, and each move they make is subject to scrutiny. When representing such a large body like the American people, leaders must remember that their actions are reflected upon those they represent, for good and bad. When we discussed social issues, issues such as foster care, human trafficking, and racism were brought up. With each of these issues, we talked about the value of a human life and the importance of caring for and supporting each other. Throughout the discussion, there was a central theme of appreciation and service towards others. By the end of the discussion, we all agreed that our responsibility as people is to spread love in our world and help others who are in need. Everyone at the the table shared the same religious beliefs, and I think that similarity helped us in reaching that conclusion. However, at each of the different stages of life we were in, we could all see the value in spreading positivity in our communities.

Through this project, I have learned the importance of community. Coming together as a community gives citizens a platform to express their passions and problems. Community gives people a support system and a family to go to when they need help. Madison’s family invited me their own community to share Thanksgiving together. The small act of kindness they extended to me showed the value their family has placed on community and fellowship. To conduct a KKT during this time of the year I think is a great way to collaboratively consider the impact we can have on our communities and our duties we have towards them. I learned through the discussion that kindness and positivity have power. Extending kindness towards others (like Madison’s family did to me) gives people a reason to be happy. Kind service towards others helps build trust and lift spirits throughout a community. I also learned that there is no room for selfishness in citizenship. When we think of citizenship, we are thinking of what we need to be doing for our government, fellow citizens, and for our fellow human beings throughout the world. Service gives us a purpose in this world and distinguishes our lives from the lives of others. When we think about great men and women in the world, we think of their actions that usually involve great things they have done for others. One way we show our love to those close to us is through service to them in some way. Building relationships in our community and serving others are ways we fulfil our responsibilities as a citizen. I have now learned that these core duties help us contribute to our world in a positive way.

In class, our three central questions are, “How do we live well together?”, “How do we solve problems?”, and “How do we give others more of a say over their lives?”. These questions all go along with our discussion about community and service to others. The first question deals with the function of community. Community works best when members are actively contributing to the common good. This statement related back to what citizenship means to each of us. In our discussion, we talked about how we, as citizens, should work to better the lives of those around us and remember the interests of others. The second question addresses problem solving. As we have learned in class, problems are best solved through deliberation. In “How We Talk Matters”, Keith Melville explains that deliberation allows people to get a better sense of problems they are facing, but they also can get a better sense of problems others are facing. Deliberation with community members is the first step in solving community and world problems. Solving problems also requires people to sacrifice time and resources in order to help others. Citizens use their talents and abilities to serve in the best way they can. The third question deals with autonomy. Through deliberation, communities members feel as if they have an active voice in how their community is ran. Our KKT discussion about community and service related to how we can answer these questions and continually work towards bettering ourselves and our society.

By Alecia

When it comes to many things in life, my family and I disagree. We’re at two vastly different ends of the spectrum, with me being at more of the liberal side and them being die-hard conservatives. I feared the worst for this discussion, afraid that it would become wildly out of control and almost to the point of lethality. I knew that these questions would be one of many things we would unfortunately disagree upon that would lead to catastrophe.

But it didn’t end up that way.

My Kentucky Kitchen Table took place November 10^th at my home in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. It was a dark, cold night, but the conversations we had were worthwhile and full of understanding and warmth. My dad, Steve, cooked us an absolutely delicious steak; my mom, Susan, made baked potatoes; and my friend Brooke and I cooked the macaroni. All were in attendance: Steve, Susan,my sister Anna, and Brooke. I had wanted the group to be as diverse as possible, inviting a plethora of people from my hometown, but Brooke had been the only one available.

Regardless, we began the discussion with my first question: Besides voting, paying taxes,and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you? After a moment of thought and consideration by everyone and after repeating the question once more, Brooke offered up her viewpoint on citizenship. She argued that citizenship is being a good person within your community. Susan then spoke up and suggested that being a citizen of America includes displaying the rights which are given to you by the Constitution. Both of these answers relate to conversations from within our class about how when addressing problems, we should take advantage of the rights and privileges we have as Americans to do good.

The next question asked was, “What do you think is positive about our world today?”Susan suggested that the best part of living today is the access to rights that people long ago did not possess, including the right to vote. The answers to this question were very similar to the answers about citizenship. I found it interesting that although we may disagree on things politically, that is a privilege we are able to have as Americans. The First Amendment protects us from criminalization of free speech, which is something that many others in multiple countries do not have the privilege of having.

When asked what their ideal community is, each individual offered a piece to a bigger idea of community. The bigger theme was that we each wanted a community full of love and connection, where people help others in need and serve the community. We did not want a community of hate and neglect, which we suggested that religion could play a part of. Steve offered that his ideal community was religious and used God’s word to impact the lives of each other in a positive life. Anna agreed with this statement, but Brooke suggested that in order to achieve this,we would have to be wary of how religion is used.

We have often discussed religion in class, and how it is used by some people as a tool of oppression on others. Brooke’s thoughts and beliefs aligned closely with those within the class discussions. Everyone at our table agreed with this statement and argued that if we wanted a community rich in spirituality, the Bible would have to be used for good and not bad, as it can often be construed differently depending on your perspective.

Overall, the discussion was very insightful and despite my initial fears on our differences in ideas, I learned that everyone in my group had very similar views on what citizenship and community looks—or should look—like.

By Ben

I hosted my Kentucky Kitchen Table meal on November 6^th. It was a Tuesday night. The city that the Kentucky Kitchen Table took place in was Greenville, Kentucky. Everyone around the table was my family, but the diversity was in the different generations I had included in my meal. My sister, Baker, and I were the youngest generation there, my mother and father, Jennifer and Brent respectively, were the middle generation, and my grandmother and step-grandfather, Ann and Barry respectively, were our eldest generation. Baker is a freshman in high school. She plays volleyball, tennis, and she swims. My mother is a librarian and a competitive runner in her free time and my father is a principal and a golfer as his hobby. My grandmother is a retired librarian who loves to knit, and my step-grandfather is a retired music teacher who loves comic books just like I do.

My sister didn’t bring anything because she doesn’t cook. My mother made mashed potatoes and bought some fried chicken along with some potato wedges. My grandmother made rolls and green beans. We sat down at my dining room table after having some small chit-chat for about thirty minutes in the kitchen. Well, part kitchen and part dining room because my kitchen and dining room are one big room. We played with my dog,Boomer, while I told them that it wasn’t anything different from a normal dinner with a slightly more focused discussion. I told them that I would just start different conversations with a certain question or two and we would all take it away from there. My mother and I were the only people at the house prior to the meal, so we had to wait for the other guests to arrive. My grandmother and step-grandfather were the next guests to arrive. The last guests to arrive were my sister and father. They were about 30 minutes later than everyone else because my sister had swim practice in a town about 15 minutes away. My mother and I set the table prior to the guests arriving. We set up plain paper plates and plastic silverware at the dining room table. We kept the foods in the oven to keep them warm while we were waiting for everyone to arrive. After everyone showed up, we brought all of the food to the kitchen table.

I didn’t have someone that I didn’t know at all, but I think that it is better that everyone present knew each other. In my opinion, it caused the deliberation to be more serious and allowed the guests to give answers that people who were strangers wouldn’t feel comfortable telling other strangers. All of the guests really opened up and got personal with our discussion. I know that if I was with a bunch of strangers for a Kentucky Kitchen Table that wasn’t at my kitchen table and I was out of my comfort zone, I would not be able to answer as candidly as I did during this Kentucky Kitchen Table.

Well, as with any meal, the first ten minutes or so were very silent with occasional small talk because everyone was eating. Then, everyone continued with a little small talk, but then the guests just started naturally talking about what they had done that day, how their weeks have gone, and how they were feeling. This went on for about fifteen minutes. After that, the conversation started slowing down, so I decided to start another conversation using the required question for our Kentucky Kitchen Table assignment which was “Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you?” My mother and grandmother at first glance at that question both said, “Oh man, what else is there?” But that’s not what they thought once they really started thinking about it. My father was looking at me with a confused look on his face and said, “Beyond what?” and I had to tell him again, “Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws.” My mother and my father both answered that question with “To us, it means to have the freedom to do as we please.” My grandparents added, “To have the freedom to have the freedom of things like Speech and Religion.” After that, I made sure to add “Citizenship is also about helping those around you, whether they be your neighbors, family, or otherwise.” because, to me, that’s what citizenship means.

After this first question everyone looked at me expectantly, but I made sure to tell them that this wasn’t an interview or a questionnaire. This was just supposed to be a conversation with an occasional conversation starter whenever the conversation lulled. After that, it became a little more fluid. It seemed less like an interview and more organic. The conversation, even with the conversation starters, flowed naturally. I then asked everyone “What is the thing you love most about living where you do?” Ann answered that she loved being so close to her daughter so if she ever needed help, she could be there. Brent said he liked the community around Greenville and liked the school system. That was a little joke by him because he and Jennifer both work in education. There was a general answer after that that everyone agreed on. Everyone agreed that they all loved their communities because they felt like they were safe there.

After this, everyone had more or less finished up eating, so we took a minor break from the conversation starters and went back to some small-talk while my mother and I cleaned up the mess left from dinner off of the table. We cleared off the plates and trash from the table. We left everyone’s drinks for them though. We took the extra food and put it in the oven to keep the leftovers warm in case anyone wanted extras.

I also asked a few more questions like “Is there anything you can think to do that might make things better for you or your neighbors where you live?” and “Does your religious or spiritual identity relate to how you think we should treat other people? Does it relate to how you see yourself as a citizen?”. Both questions garnered answers that were a consensus among everyone at the table. For the first question, everyone agreed that yes, there are many things they can do like reach out and befriend neighbors more often. The overall answer to that question was basically, “Yes, being Christian does relate to how we treat our neighbors, because in the Bible it says to love your neighbors. It relates to us being citizens because it’s also our civic duty to love our neighbors and be kind to our fellow citizens.”

Finally, the last conversation I started was by asking the guests of the dinner “What social issue is closest to your heart and why?”. This one struck a chord with almost everyone at the table. My entire family, who are all former or current educators, of course talked about the issue of how the government has been tampering with educator’s retirement plans. They all agreed that that was a topic that was near and dear to their hearts. My grandparents, my sister, and I also mentioned the overpopulation and neglection of pets nowadays. My grandmother and step-grandfather have about 30 cats living outside of their house right now. That’s not me exaggerating, they just keep reproducing. She keeps trying to get them all fixed, but they keep evading her and she can’t bring herself to quit feeding them which is understandable, so of course she’d feel strongly about that. My sister and I frequently stay with our grandparents, so we’ve experienced the cats living there as well and that’s why we agreed as well.

What I learned from this whole experience is that everyone has different opinions, but also some of the same opinions. They also are very passionate about their opinions, but I also learned that from the class itself. My family all had different opinions on these conversation starters and would defend their opinion with their points of view. They would argue, but not harshly, just bicker mildly. At the end of almost every conversation something very interesting happened. At least I think it was interesting and it might not have happened at every Kentucky Kitchen Table. My family, no matter how much they disagreed or bickered, they would all try to find one common similarity in their opinions and try to agree with that one thing to kind of reunify them as a group, but still maintaining their individuality. It really made me feel warm that these people who have differences, unanimously decided to overlook those differences and focus on the similarities that they share to maintain the relationships they have. That’s one thing that bugs me about politics and other issues in the world today: Some people will literally destroy friendships just if someone doesn’t agree with them over that particular subject or another. I have had friends like that. It’s ridiculous to lose friends over your opinion, but of course I won’t change how I am not affiliated with a political party for example, because someone shouldn’t dictate that for me.

My experience at my Kentucky Kitchen Table relates to what we’ve learned in Honors 251 because one thing we’ve learned about is “How can people live better (or, at least, less badly) together?” I think my family has solved that question without even knowing that we’ve been learning about that question in the class. The way we can live better, or at least less badly, together is by forgetting about or ignoring the differences we all have because we are all different. That’s why we’re individuals. It’s about focusing on the similarities we ALL share and let those similarities bring us together. Just like mentioned in “How We Talk Matters” written by Keith Melville and others, if we talk and work together, then we can solve problems better.

By Kaitlin

My Kentucky Kitchen Table was completed on November 10, 2018, in Louisville, Kentucky, my hometown. I invited four of my neighbors- Martha, Sandy, Gayle, and Jackie. My mom, Shannon, was also in attendance. I have lived in the same neighborhood in the same house for my entire life because of this over the years the neighborhood has changed and I have gotten multiple new neighbors. So, when I told my mom about this assignment we thought it would be a perfect way to get to know our neighbors that had moved in recently or who we just had not really interacted with much before.

Martha has been my across-the-street neighbor for my whole life. We are very close neighbors and even exchange Christmas gifts every year. She is a retired high school teacher and is married. She never had children. I wouldn’t consider her one of the “strangers” in my project, but a friend attending.

Sandy moved in three houses down across the street from me about a year ago. She is a single woman who doesn’t have any human children. I say human children because her miniature poodle Lola is her child. This is how my family met Sandy when we, last spring, got a new puppy ironically enough also named Lola. Her Lola and our Lola are best friends and have play dates frequently. I have had brief, small talk conversations with Sandy, but I do not feel I know her well because of the fact that my mom became friends with her while I was at school.

Gayle I had never met before this dinner. I had only seen her briefly in her yard. She lives two houses down from me, and I did not even know her name was Gayle until Martha suggested we invite her as well. She is divorced with grown children and is an accountant.

Jackie is married with two sons. Her sons are three and five years old. She is a nurse and her and my mom discovered that they actually work on opposite sides of the same hospital. I had never interacted with Jackie more than waving to her when she and her sons were playing outside.

Aside from my mom, I had not really explained why we were having this dinner beside saying I needed to for a class. So, we started with some small talk and got to know each other better during a small “cocktail hour” where we had cheese and crackers and wine for the adults. During this time, I stayed away from the questions on the assignment for the time being. I learned that Sandy had been married at one time a long time ago, but they have now been divorced for many years. She also explained more about her job and that she travels a lot because she helps open hotels in many different areas. Gayle mentioned that she loves going to the movies which is something I also love to do. So, we chatted about current movies for a while. Jackie talked about her kids and how they were enjoying their school and how her younger son Jack, still wanted to put on his Halloween costume at least once a week. It was nice to at least know a little about the people I live so close to.

After this, we moved into theDining Room and started our meal which is when I started describing the class and its objectives and then I decided to start with a buffer question so they could get a feel for what this discussion would be like before I asked the main citizen question. I decided to ask “Did you ever have meals around the table with your family or neighbors growing up? And did you like that?” I imputed my answer first so my guests would feel comfortable. “I almost always ate with my family around a kitchen table. I always enjoyed it and while we did watch TV most nights we always had to share our favorite thing that happened to us that day before the TV could be turned on. It could share something big or small, but this was a small way that my family connected with each other about the parts of our days that we were apart.” My mom answered next saying she lived across the street from her best friend growing up so they would have dinner at each other’s houses frequently and she enjoyed it very much because it felt like she was a part of two families. Martha, Gayle, and Sandy said about the same idea. They said they also ate regularly with their families and they found it was a way to reconnect with each other at the end of the day. Jackie said that her family did eat together but they did not normally eat around the table but in front of the TV in the living room. She said she thinks she would have enjoyed the intimate family time of being around an actual table. She did like how when they did eat at the table all together it felt special, and she liked how exciting it was to eat a formal meal together,

Now that everyone had an idea ofhow this discussion would kind of go, I then asked: “Beyond voting, payingtaxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you?” They were alittle stumped at first, but then Sandy answered that it is getting involved inthe world around us. She also said, “As a citizen, you have human rightsand a voice in important international matters. We need to use our citizenshipto advocate for the big issues in our world today. We have rights and we needto use them.” Martha had a more small idea of citizenship. As citizens weshould, Martha thought, try to contribute what we can to the community we are currently inbecause first and foremost we are citizens of the Highlands then Louisvillethan Kentucky then the United States and then the world. She thought we need towork from the inside out. We needed to work on our community and fix thedeep-rooted problems there first. Once these two opposite views were presentedthe other members at the table kind of decided to stand on one side or theother. Jackie and my mom views fell closer to the small community effort iswhat citizenship entailed. Gayle, however, fell more with Sandy’s view ofcitizenship involving big actions. They talked about how it was important to bevocal about what we agreed with that our government was doing, but also bevocal about what we did not agree with, and we should try to take actions tofix, or at least make better, what we did not agree with.

Since the conversation then shifted to social issues, I decided to ask what social issue is closest to their hearts and why? My whole group was women so women’s rights came up quickly and all guests agreed that this was one of the issues closest to their hearts. They felt that this is an issue that affected both their views of citizenship.Women’s rights and sexism is an issue we all had faced in our community and have seen in the media the sexism other women are experiencing around the world. This question seemed to reinforce to the group the idea that social issues have a close connection to being a citizen and our duties of citizenship go beyond voting and paying taxes because we are citizens we have a duty to respond and fight these issues we are passionate about and hold in our hearts.

I learned from this dinner that it is good to discuss things with strangers even if it may make you uncomfortable or nervous.I was very nervous to host this dinner, hints why I waited to the last possible weekend to complete it. It actually was a very positive experience and I am glad I decided to do it with my actual geographic neighbors. The next day I saw Gayle outside and could actually go up to her, thank her again, and have a personal conversation instead of just doing a courtesy wave from a distance. I learned not only their names but also more about their beliefs and passions.This conversation showed me that what the article “How We Talk Matters” was right and how we talk really does matter. It may seem like sometimes that talking does not do much in the big picture context, but if it does nothing else it brings you closer to the people around you. I think that people coming together and finding similarities and embracing each other’s differences is an important aspect of citizenship. One definition of being a citizen is being a member of a community. I think that when you have connections to people in the community around you you become more passionate about helping your community and in turn helping the world

By Rheanna

This past week, my friend and group member, Lori and I hosted a Kentucky Kitchen Table. At this KKT we gathered with friends and family to eat food and ask some questions that normally send people into running head first into arguments. We had the meal at my and my roommate’s apartment in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The name of the apartment complex is Campus Pointe, known for their affordable housing and roommate system. Everyone brought some type of food or drink a gathered around the dining room table to have a dinner consisting of pizza, banana bread, brownies, and wine. We made a makeshift chair out of the living room ottoman and laughed our way through our food before we got down to the important parts.

To begin, lets introduce you to both us and our guests.

I am Rheanna. I am a 20-year-old, white American female. I work at Ashcroft & Oak Jewelers in the Greenwood Mall. I actively practice a Pagan religion. I am an Asian Religions & Cultures major with an International Business minor and love to travel and experience new cultures.

Lori is an 18-year-old white American female who is also my classmate. She is wishing to pursue languages during her time at Western Kentucky University and is currently a part of the Confucius Institute Program. She enjoys reading in her free time. She prefers letting others carry the bulk of the conversation and listening.

Our guests were:

Corrina, a Black American woman, 21 years of age, who works in Portland, Tennessee at the Macy’s Distributer. She is Christian and attends church every Sunday. She also sings in her churches choir, of which she practices for once a week. A home body who loves crockpot meals, she has a loud laugh and a caring heart.

Jessica, a White American woman, 22 years of age, who is a Graduate Assistant in the Geology Department at Western Kentucky University. She is from Alabama. She did not discuss any particular religious views during our table discussion. She loves being outdoors with her dog Fitz Roy and frequently cave dives and goes on excursions with friends. She has a deadpan sense of humor and a preference to stay quiet.

Danial, a White American Man, 24 years of age, who works at both Bimbo Bakery’s and Papa John’s Pizza. He is Christian and identified himself as leaning more right wing with his views. Constantly cracking jokes, he enjoys being the center of attention.

As can be read, we are all American and majority white, however, past that, similarities are here and there. Some of us are home bodies, some would rather be out doors. Some of us are up to getting our hands dirty, some would just rather not. Areas of work and/or study are varied, family back grounds, religious, and political views are all tinged with variety. Talking with this group of people turned out to be quite rewarding.

First, in order to have everyone as happy as possible, we ate and had a few glasses of wine. (Only those of us who could drink, of course.) From there, we asked our questions to our guests. Us and our guests tended to have varying views on our topic issues. Despite this, we tended to get lost in deliberation. We did preface the conversation with some information on what our class is about. Our class, Citizen and Self, is a course which discussions and deliberates hot-button issues in a very calm and professional manner. We asked that our guest would also conduct themselves in such a way that would allow others to speak their thoughts thoroughly before responding. Allow yourself to think, then respond- not react. I believe this allowed for us to conduct pleasant conversation despite differences.

Of course, before truly getting into our topic issues, we had to ask our guests a basic question. Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you? We received varying responses, but overall, all in attendance seemed to agree that citizenship was much more than the seemingly obvious aspects of being a citizen of a country. Citizenship is more than your obligation to others within just your local, state, or national community. It is more than just the responsibility you yourself hold in these communities, as well. On an infinitely larger scale, citizenship is how you contribute as a human and person to the global community. Is the sum of your actions beneficial to others on the greater scale? Is what you are contributing something of value and something that everyone should contribute?

Topics/questions asked were as follows:

1. What do you think are the best things about our world today?

Answers for this question were highly individual. Steps to become ecofriendly, the growing international connection in the world, and freedoms in the individuals home country were all answers given. As we discussed this and really thought about it some more, our answers leaned more and more to a truly global scale. The ease of cultural exchange through the development of new technologies over the years became a common ground for the majority of us as being one of the best things about the world today.

• What is the thing you love most about living where you do?

Caves, guns, nature, local food, etc. A couple of us came to the area specifically for the nature and to attend Western Kentucky University. Some of us are living where we do out of necessity more so than choice. We had to search for what we enjoyed the most in these cases.

• Do you think we have any obligation to other people in our country? In our community?

A resounding YES. We owe it to ourselves and those around us to do our part in our community, whatever that may be. If that is to keep our environment and ourselves clean, then if everyone did contribute their part, the community would run much more efficiently. By doing your part, every aspect of a community runs more efficiently.

• Did you ever have meals around the table with your family or neighbors growing up? Did you like that? Why or why not?

Everyone seemed to say that, yes, we had had meals with family around a table at some point. Some of us never really had sit down meals for dinner with family. Dinners with food in front of a TV was more common growing up, which we all felt was not nearly as beneficial for us or our families. For a couple of us, there were regular family dinners around a table, however, the tradition never held for one reason or another. All of us agreed, especially after the conclusion off our KKT, that having had those sit-down dinners with our families growing up may have even helped with familial connections that are now absent or lacking.

• Have you ever had a conversation with someone from a really different back ground than yourself?

“Of course.” This conversation went into deeper discussion with people of vastly different views, both good and bad interactions. We also discussed how we handle conversations with those who have opposing views. We tend to be respectful to those that show respect. When others have too different of views, however, we have a tendency to stop listening to what the other person is saying. We also discussed the difference in talking to someone with vastly different views that is simple ignorant and someone who is informed but stubbornly unwilling to see any point of view than their own without being able to give a viable option to support their reasoning.

• What social issue is closest to your heart and why?

These issues did tend to be closer to home, both physically and emotionally. Our impact as humans on our local environment, social media influence on the mental health of younger populations, and corruption of the American healthcare systems were some of the concerns that were brought up during discussion.

As you can tell, throughout our discussion, we had a habit of coming back to the concept of community being important on a global scale.  Our actions in our local community impacts the greater area without us noticing it. With this impact spreading further to the state, it crosses over to federal, and from there can and will cross to other countries. In class we have discussed multiple times the concept of a “wicked problem.” When we are faced with wicked problems, we tend to focus on the problems within our own country- there is nothing wrong with this and it is, in fact, exactly where we should start. However, we do not often consider how those wicked problems for us in our own country may impact other countries. This impact could be in the form of trade, labor, entertainment, politics- if you can name an aspect of culture, it can be influenced. By being aware of this influence, we are given the tools to do more in our own local community, and furthermore, can become better global citizens.

By Bailey

On Monday, November 5^th, Olivia, Liz, and I hosted our Kentucky Kitchen Table Dinner in Bowling Green, Kentucky at the apartment of Tatum and Kate, a couple of our acquaintances that we had met through the Christian Student Fellowship at Western Kentucky University. Unfortunately, due to being sick, I attended via FaceTime, but even though I couldn’t be there in person, (or eat any of Olivia’s amazing, so I’ve heard, chicken casserole) it was still a wonderful and unique experience. Those who attended were Kate, Tatum, Maggie, and Lauren; however, multiple people showed up at the apartment throughout the dinner and joined in on both the eating and the conversation. Many interesting and thought- provoking topics were brought up and discussed during our dinner.

This experience definitely helped usget to know each other better as people. Tatum is from Todd County, which is near Hopkinsville, Kentucky. She is a sophomore at WKU, and she is majoring inBiochemistry and will be attending pharmacy school next fall. Also, Tatum would like to be described as someone who loves to laugh and is very light heartedand quirky. Kate is from Erlanger, Kentucky, which is in the northern part of thestate. She is also a sophomore at WKU, and her major is Religious Studies. Kate would like to be described as someone who is very passionate about causes close to her heart as well as meeting new people and getting to know them. Maggie isalso from Erlanger, Kentucky, as she and Kate are sisters; however, Maggie is only seventeen and still in high school. Lauren is from Lexington, Kentucky and also a sophomore at WKU, but I am unsure of her major. Tatum, Lauren, and Kate are all roommates in their apartment. They also are all Christians who attend Christian Student Fellowship, a non- denominational Christian campus ministry at WKU, with Tatum and Kate leading a community group within the ministry, and they were mostly raised in Christian households. Personally, I believe that both where they are from and their different life experiences makes them a very diverse group of people who all have differing, unique opinions to bring to the table. There were also around three or four people that randomly showed up at Tatum and Kate’s apartment throughout the dinner whom I didn’t know at all. They were able to bring their own perspectives to the discussion even though they didn’t even know we were having the dinner and only attended for a shorttime.

 The very first question we asked was the one that this entire activity was centered around: “Beyond voting, paying taxes, and following laws, what does citizenship mean to you?”. This question elicited some answers that aren’t typically thought of, in my opinion anyway.The main answer was said by Kate when she spoke of how, as Christians, we havedual citizenship, meaning that we are citizens of both Heaven and Earth. We discussed how our allegiance is first to God and then to America and how this truth of ours ultimately affects how we treat people in everyday life as well as our stances on local, state, national, and global issues. As Christians, we discussed how our ultimate task in life is to love others and, because of that,we view people around us in a different light and strive to serve others andour country in whatever ways we can. This question also opened the door for the question concerning how our religious or spiritual identity affects how we treat other people and how we view ourselves as citizens. Our religion impacts every aspect of our lives.

This conversation reminded me immediately of an essay in “Part Five: Courage is Contagious” of TheImpossible Will Take a Little While. The essay is called “Faith Works”. Itsmain point discusses how religion should be used as a method of healing ratherthan a method of division, which it is unfortunately too often used as. Thisessay also points out that religious communities have the power and love needed to change the world for the better, but instead, they take advantage of thisopportunity and use religion as a source of conflict and division among people.This essay was one of my favorites we have read in class because of the important message it brings to those who read it.

Our conversation of dual citizenship also brought me to one of our main questions we discuss in class: “How can people live better together?”. As we were talking about maintaining dualcitizenship and loving others, I couldn’t help but see the connection to people living better together. I thought about what the world would be like and how well we could truly live together if everyone genuinely loved each other and served one another. If everyone viewed citizenship through a lens of love,always wondering what would be the best situation for everyone and how they could love and serve those around them better each and every day, then the world would be better for it, and I believe we would be able to live better together, with a deeper understanding of each other.

We began to discuss being a good person in general after our conversation concerning religion. As people, we understand that not everyone identifies with a specific religion, but we all firmly believe in just trying to be a good person working towards the greater good of society despite religious beliefs. Being a good person in general, we agreed, includes being compassionate towards your fellow human beings.

 Then, we asked if anyone had ever had a conversation with someone of a completely different background from their own. Tatum brought up how, in Todd County, there is a large Amish community andthat she has had many conversations with them about their beliefs and their lifestyle, being completely removed from the world, in it but not of it. Kate then began to talk about a woman that she has had extensive conversations with whose parents are illegal immigrants and how that has affected this woman’s childhood, her background, and her beliefs. We also discussed different churches in the Bowling Green area, such as Journey and Christ Fellowship that have both a very diverse congregation and service. 

 The conversation began to take a political turn when we started to talk about taking action in society to make a change. Maggie brought a unique perspective to this conversation since she is only seventeen and can’t vote yet. She reinforced the concept of using your voice and taking action, not only for yourself but for those younger than you who don’t have that ability yet. Those of us who have the ability to vote began to talk about how we believe it is important to be an active citizen as opposed to being stagnant and apathetic to the current situation of our country and our world. Kate brought up how she thought it was so cool that, around every election time, the Herald profiles each of the candidates in Bowling Green so that college students can be informed voters when they go to the poll. She emphasized how important it was to be educated on our current circumstances and how dangerous ignorance can be.

This gave us the opportunity to ask what social issues everyone was passionate about. Kate brought two issues tothe table. One was abortion and the other was racial reconciliation. Kate has very strong opinions about abortion and hopes that one day there will be racial reconciliation, as racism is still prevalent. Maggie brought up how she had recently been on a mission trip to Guatemala and how that had opened her eyes to international poverty, which is an issue that is near to her heart.

Of course, bringing up social issues brought up the topic of political polarization in America. Again, we discussed how we mostly believe that the root of the issue is the lack of love in compassion as well as the lack of willingness to listen to the opinions of others. Each of us expressed how the current political climate of America broke our hearts and how we hope it eventually will change for the better, with people beginning to listen to one another and having open minds. We all seemed to believe that solving this issue would begin to make many other problems we have here in America much easier to tackle. 

When Kate brought up racial reconciliation as an issue she was passionate about,this sparked an entirely new conversation about racism in America, discussinghow we all hoped it would become completely eradicated one day. We talked abouthow the issue has gotten better over time but how it is still quite prevalentin our country today. This led the conversation to the discussion ofinterracial relationships and how we thought our families would react to eachof us being in an interracial relationship. Sadly, some of us realized that theolder members of our family would be opposed to such relationships, and wetalked about how we wished that wasn’t the case and how we hope their perspectiveschange on this at some point in the future. One of the people who came duringthe middle of the dinner was able to offer her perspective on actually being inan interracial relationship and how both of their families reacted. Herexperience was a positive one, but she also described how they had a couple ofnegative experiences out in public mainly because they were an interracialcouple. This conversation about racism connected back to the beginning of ourdinner where we identified a lack of love as being the root of most problemsAmerica is facing today.  

  It was wonderful just to be able tosit down and talk with people about the current state of life and everyone’sdifferent perspectives on certain issues. I also found it comforting that, eventhough there were differing points of view and opinions, we were still able tohave a relaxed and civil conversation. This honestly gave me hope for ourfuture. If I’m being honest, conversations about political issues have alwaysintimidated me because of how polarized things have become, but if everyconversation happened in the way this one did, I wouldn’t mind politicaldiscussions at all. The importance of love and compassion for one another isthe main takeaway I gained from our dinner. I will remember this experience andkeep it with me for a very long time. Also, I am so grateful for thefriendships I have made stronger through this experience and the knowledge Ihave gained about each of the girls who attended the dinner. All in all, I amincredibly thankful that I was able to be a part of this experience.

• 

By Lori

My Kentucky kitchen table meal took place on Wednesday November 7th, 2018. The dinner was hosted at my classmate, Rheanna’s apartment in Bowling Green, Kentucky. There was a total of five people in attendance for the meal. Rheanna invited two people that she knew, and I invited my brother to join us for the meal and discussion.  My brother and I arrived at the apartment shortly before Rheanna got off work. My brother, Daniel, works two jobs and did not go to college; he works for Bimbo Bakeries and Papa John’s here in Bowling Green. Though our parents were both born and raised in Bowling Green for most of their lives, my brother and I are originally from Columbia, Tennessee and moved to Kentucky a little over five years ago. When we moved here, my brother had already graduated high school, but I was still in eighth grade. I am currently a freshman in college, and I am focusing on learning multiple different languages including: Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese, and French. My friend Rheanna is also in my Honors 251 class. We just met this year and have been working together on another major assignment for the class. She can speak Japanese and lived in Japan for almost an entire year. She is currently a senior in college and is working on learning Korean in hopes to live there for a while. Jessica, the first of Rheanna’s guests to show up, is a college student majoring in Glacier caves and their interactions with volcanoes; she is a vegetarian, and cares deeply about the environment which are things she and I share in common. Corrina was Rheanna’s other guest that attended our dinner; she and Rheanna are roommates sharing the apartment. Corrina, like my brother, did not go to college and also has two jobs as well. She is working at Macy’s in Tennessee, and she is also an independent distributor at Advocare which is a health and wellness company. Each of us came from very different backgrounds and have our own individual ideas, religious beliefs, interests, and goals for our futures.

    For the dinner, Rheanna and I agreed that it would be more polite for us to provide the food for our guests. Because my brother works at Papa John’s, we brought two pizzas for the main dish; due to the dietary restrictions that both Jessica and I share, we made sure that one of the pizzas we brought was a vegetarian friendly Hawaiian pizza and the other was half cheese and half pepperoni. For deserts, I brought some pay de piña which are little, Mexican style pineapple pies and some of my special recipe, homemade banana bread. Rheanna baked some brownies and provided all of the drinks and dishes.

    Before we arranged the dinner, Rheanna and I selected a few questions in addition to the required question to guide our discussion and keep the conversation going. After we made our plates and were all situated around the table, we began our discussion. The first thing we asked was the required question of what citizenship meant to each of our guests. Each of them gave different responses, but agreed with what the others had said. Jessica defined citizenship as the idea that you are now a part of a group of people in your country, and she also said she believed it was the balance between having your freedoms and a sense of security as benefits of being a part of the country. Corrina said that she agreed, but also believed that it includes others freedoms such as buying and owning a house and the responsibility of being a part of what makes America great. Daniel stated that his idea of citizenship was that everyone living in a country together should all try to get along to make the world even just a little bit better each day. He said that he believes if you see a fellow citizen in distress, you should help them out. Before asking our next question, Rheanna gave the group a general definition of a deliberation to ensure that the discussion did not get out of hand or possibly turn into an argument. Because of their definitions, I decided to add in another question regarding a topic we had discussed in class. I decided to ask them their thoughts on President Trump wanting to use executive order to end birthright citizenship which is granted by the fourteenth amendment in the United States Constitution to all people born or naturalized in the United States. Each person had very different reasoning behind their answer, but we each agreed that he should not change the birthrights that have been granted to us by the constitution and that America should take notes from other countries on our tolerance of immigration. The next question we asked was what each person believed were the best things about our world today. Daniel said that he liked the idea of correctional institutions that allow people a second chance, and he is fascinated by our world’s advancement in medical research and technological breakthroughs. Corrina appreciated the fact that we are able to move up in the socio-economic system through our hard work and the existence of a free-market economy. Jessica’s favorite part of our world was the popularization of the idea of neolocalism where people have a genuine appreciation for sourcing locally to improve their economies. Rheanna and I both had a similar response. She said that the best part of our world today is the interconnectedness we have with other cultures which allows us to have awareness of global issues. I said that I enjoy the fact that our interconnectedness allows for a diversity of people to bring different perspectives on issues that will allow for multiple ideas to be presented to find the most efficient means of solving our problems and the problems faced by others. Next we asked whether they believed we had any obligations to other people in our country. There was a unanimous agreement that everyone should help others, use our resources most efficiently, and share what we have with those in need especially the homeless, veterans, and people who are not likely to find any other source of assistance. During this section of discussion, we included our thoughts on the roles that sympathy and empathy both play on these moral obligations which is another topic that we have discussed in class. Then we asked if the people present ever had meals like this around the table with family and neighbors, and how they felt about them. Everybody there had been a part of meals like this before, and they each enjoyed the moments as a time to connect with others and talk about their days. Rheanna, Daniel, and I all mentioned that it was more typical to have meals like this when we were younger, but as we grew up, our families stopped having many sit down meals and as a result, we all slowly drifted apart. After that, we asked if they had ever had a conversation with someone from a very different background than themselves. Everybody had been a part of a conversation with people of different faiths, backgrounds, ethnicities, etc., and everyone agreed that it was an effective way to learn more about other cultures, dismantle previously held stereotypes, and gain a tolerance for people who are different than you and/or people you are used to being around. The last thing we asked was about which social issues were closest to their hearts. Many topics were brought up including: animal rights, the environment, abortion, stereotypes, and racism. It was interesting to see the different opinions that each person in our group had regarding each of the issues.

     This has been one of my favorite assignments that I have participated in during my first semester on a college campus. I rarely have time to have deep discussions like that, so being able to sit down with a small group of people and talk about our opinions on things going on in the world around us helped me to gain a better understanding of how others view and deal with problems that are very prevalent in our community, country, and world today. I think my favorite part of this assignment was the fact that we each got to know each other, and, despite it being the first time that many of us had ever met, we were able to have a bonding experience and develop a closeness to one another through conversation. One of the most relatable things said during our meal was that this experience was enjoyable, because we weren’t on our phones which allowed us to have a more personal, face-to-face interaction where we could enjoy the company and respond to one another in an orderly manner. This experience reminded me of a section of a book I read in AP literature during high school; the summer before my senior year, we were assigned How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster as our summer reading. One of Foster’s archetypes was communion which was described as being one of the most important sections in a story if included, because it shows the connections between the characters and can further the development of relationships between the people who take part in it. In the start of our communion, we did not know much about one another, but by the end of the meal, we had all become comfortable with one another and developed new friendships with those who attended. We found ourselves making jokes and sharing personal thoughts with one another that we would have never been able to had we not been sitting around the same table. This experience also reminded me of one of my favorite articles that we have read in Honors 251. How We Talk Matters was an article that we read in the beginning of the year, and during our meal, the central theme of the article laid heavy on my mind. The article discusses how the disparity between the problems we are facing today and what we are doing to solve these problems can be overcome by not only speaking to others about the issues, but also by really listening to what others have to say and understanding their ideas to come up with a reasonable solution. We need to have more conversations in which we spend a greater amount of time listening to what others might have to say about the topic instead of just dismissing their opinions because they may be different than us. We can learn more from each other if we take the time to have a thoughtful discussion rather than a heated argument, and I believe that this assignment was a great way of practicing this method of deliberation and discussion to learn more about others and their unique stance on certain issues that affect our everyday lives. If I could, I would participate in more face-to-face, group dinners like this, because even being an antisocial person, I enjoyed being in an environment focused on intelligent, personal conversation as opposed to the everyday small-talk or face-to-screen conversation that is more prevalent in the world today.

By: Brigid

     I dropped the ball andforgot to take pictures, but ten people including myself attended my KentuckyKitchen Table. My brother Eddie, my sister Caelan and her friends Katie,Juliana and Maria, my boyfriend Josh, his parents Michael and Laura, my mom Deborah, and myself were all in attendance at my house, around my kitchen table in Louisville. I was excited because we had people of different ages, genders, religious,and geographic backgrounds. Deborah is a politically active woman from amilitary family who has lived all over the United States. I am her daughter and also a politically active woman, but I was raised outside of Seattle, Washington along with Eddie, a senior in high school, and Caelan, a junior in high school. Even among the three of us, there is some diversity in that while we have all lived in Kentucky for the same amount of time, Caelan was much younger than I was when we moved and so one could argue that she has been more influenced by the area than I have. You could say the same for Eddie as well. I think it is also worth noting that Caelan goes to a private Catholic high school, while Eddie goes to same public high school that I graduated from a fewyears ago. I know Katie more than I know Maria or Juliana, but that is not to say that I know Katie particularly well. She’s from Louisville and goes to the same public school as Eddie. Juliana is a junior at Caelan’s school, and she is also from Louisville. Maria also attends Caelan’s school, but she was adopted from Russia when she was young. Before the dinner, I had never met Juliana and I had only met Maria once. Josh is also from Louisville, and unlike others atthe table, has lived in one place his whole life. I have met his parents before and we have talked a bit, and Michael is from Eastern Kentucky while Laura grew up in Louisville.

            When I asked the first question about what citizenship meant to them, it was hard to steer them away from voting. This might have been because the midterm elections were only a few weeks after our conversation, and Election Day is Deborah’s favorite holiday, so some of the importance placed on voting is understandable. However, the answer that everyone was able to come to a consensus on was that being a good citizen means being actively involved in their community and contributing to that community in a positive way. I think that the group was fixated on voting because they saw it as the predominate way that they could impact their community, which I understand. I think a lot of the national conversation around encouraging people to vote revolves around this idea that voting is important for making decisions about our community, which was reflected at the table.

            Since we had a few young people at the table, I wanted to know how they engaged with their community, since they can’t vote and sometimes they are limited in influencing policy because of that fact. I asked this question in particular to shift the discussion towards other types of engagement by asking people who cannot vote about the alternative ways of political engagement in which they partake. Juliana said that she would go to the administration at her school to advocate for certain issues. Katie talked about how helpless she felt when the Trump administration implemented the Muslim travel ban, but then she saw coverage of all of the protests and she had a little more hope. Eddie said that protesting seemed like an effective way of getting his voice heard even though he is still slightly too young to vote.

            One of my favorite parts of the conversation was when I started talking about how it confused me that I heard adults tell me when I was younger that my generation not only could, but should change the world for the better, but when the Parkland shooting happened, adults rushed to discredit those kids. There is also a generally dismissive tone that I hear from older adults when talking about the political engagement of young people, especially those in high school. The other young people at the table agreed that this disdain that some, not all, older adults have for young people who have political opinions is annoying and frustrating. It infantilizes us, and it helps encourage young people to disengage from politics, because they read the political environment as hostile to them. Michael was right when he said that all that complaining about young people was just an attempt silence those same young people. I think that the main reason behind attempts to silence certain groups of people is that it is easier to ignore the issues those people are advocating for if one just wholesale ignores everything that they say. It is easier to ignore someone than to confront the idea that our world is less than perfect.

            Another one of my favorite parts of the discussion was about volunteering abroad. In my class, we talked about Ivan Illich’s “To Hell with Good Intentions,” and it spurred an interesting conversation in my class about the merits of going abroad to volunteer, even if those volunteers actually do more harm than good, or who only help others in ways that the volunteers want to help them, as opposed to addressing the needs of the people in that specific country. I brought this up at the table, along with a brief summary of the speech and its main points. What I trying to talk about was whether or not volunteering abroad alone sufficed as an indicator of good global citizenship. At the table, we said that whenever someone is trying to volunteer, wherever they may be, they should try to meet the needs of the people who they are trying to help. Deborah said that her grandmother used to go abroad on mission trips, and Deborah always found that to be self-serving because she wasn’t trying to help others on their terms simply to help them; her grandmother was helping people to make herself feel better.

            One thing that I learned is that even if the people at my table did not know what the technical terms “civil engagement” or “deliberative democracy” mean—to be fair, I only know them because of this class—but nonetheless it was important to everyone to be an engaged member of their community. I also learned not to be afraid of deep conversations with people who aren’t the same age as me. I’m relatively comfortable talking about the topics describes above; in fact, I love talking about engagement and working with others to solve common problems. However, most of the time I have these discussions with people who are my own age (e.g. the Citizen and Self class) and I’m not that used to talking about this stuff with people outside my age group. I will occasionally talk politics with people who are older than me, with mixed results, but I don’t really regard the conversation during dinner as a discussion about politics (I deliberatively steered the discussion away topics like voting and the Trump Administration) but a discussion about political philosophy and engagement.

            One thing that I am self-conscious about is that I always have something to say and I sometimes talk too much. This time I really worked on listening to the people at my table and I focused more on asking questions than answering them. I learned that asking the questions can be more fulfilling than answering them because instead of thinking about what I thought and what I was going to say, I was thinking about what other people said.

            As previously mentioned, we explicitly talked about the Ivan Illich reading during the dinner; I wanted to talk about global citizenship and I thought the discussion we had in class about the speech was interesting. I wanted to push them to see what they considered examples of bad citizenship and I think I got that answer, albeit not in those explicit terms.

            I think these table discussions are like mini-brainstorming sessions in the deliberative engagement models. Deliberative engagement is based on the idea that we as a society have to talk through our problems to find solutions, and so it is imperative that we learn how to talk to one another in an efficient, productive manner. As a society, we are uncomfortable with talking about deep subjects like religion or politics because we don’t learn how to talk about these topics and we don’t talk about them. It turns into a vicious cycle. Our class teaches us to talk about big problems in respectful, productive ways, and I think that this project gave me a chance to practice those skills around people that I know really well and people that I don’t know very well.            

      In conclusion, I felt like we had a thorough discussion that I enjoyed, and I followed up with some of the participants and they said they enjoyed it as well. I liked practicing listening and moderating, and I enjoyed talking to people who were not my age. The only person who was my age was my boyfriend, everyone else was at least a year younger or older than me. Overall, it was a fulfilling experience.

By Jeremy

My Kentucky’s Kitchen Table took place at my own dining room table in London on Sunday, November 4. London is a small town in Southeastern Kentucky where family and faith reign supreme in most circles. Five people gathered around the table that afternoon: my mother Heather and Grandmother Martha, our neighbor Kristen, my former high school teacher Charles, and me (Jeremy). All attendees of our dinner helped to reflect the diversity of our community through political, religious, economic, and age differences.

Heather is a high school math teacher at Corbin High School in nearby Corbin, Kentucky. She is a white middle-class citizen, aged 47, and she identifies as both a strong Republican and a Baptist Christian. Her religious identity is most influential in her stance on social issues and political opinions.

Martha is a retired social worker and a custodian at her local church. She identifies as Caucasian, though she is 1/8 Cherokee Indian and her skin tone is dark, aged 74, and she lives below the poverty line in her retirement. She identifies as a political independent and a strong non-denominational Christian. She credits both her religious identity and her life experience for influencing her political and social outlook.

Kristen is an unemployed high school student at local South Laurel High School. She is a white, wealthy young woman, aged 18, who identifies as a political independent but a staunch Catholic. She credits her religious identity most for her stance on social issues, but she doesn’t have much interest in political disputes.

Charles is a mechanic at Aisin Automotive Casting, LLC. outside of London. He is a white middle-class citizen, aged 47, and he identifies as a “blue dog” conservative Democrat but does not have any religious affiliation. He credits his upbringing in a military family for influencing his beliefs and stance on political and social issues.

I, Jeremy, am a student at WKU studying Mechanical Engineering and seeking a certificate in Manufacturing and Logistics. I am a white middle-class citizen, aged 18, and I identify as a strong conservative Republican and a Baptist Christian. I credit my upbringing and religious identity for influencing my stance on both political and social issues.

After a short time of mingling to get to know one another better, we sat down to dinner around the ovular table and passed the rice, beans, biscuits, chicken, and potatoes that everyone brought. I then probed the question, “Besides voting, obeying laws, and paying taxes, what does citizenship mean to you?”, and the conversation that followed was nothing that I could have anticipated. Martha broke the silence with her response, “I think that being a citizen means you should love your neighbors.” She then elaborated that she believes each person has a responsibility to serve their community and their neighbors. Since we are all unequally blessed, it is important that we share our blessings with others. Everyone else’s responses began to echo the same concept of the “golden rule”. Heather added that citizenship is an active role, but it also brings a sense of identity. As a teacher, Heather believes her responsibilities are not only to educate her students in school subjects, but also she believes it is her duty as a citizen to mentor to her students in need. Charles then adds that being a productive member of society is crucial to being a good citizen. He believes that each citizen should do his or her best to provide for their own and others in need. Also, he believes good citizens should exercise their freedoms since in fact “Our nation was built upon freedom.” Kristen then chimed in that citizenship is dependent on how much a member actually produces towards the whole. However, she argues that since some people aren’t as capable of helping themselves, others should be willing to provide them aid. I agreed with most of their sentiments, that citizenship is an active role and that it is our duty as citizens to love one another.

In the small town of London, most people call each other by name as they pass by because they have a sense of appreciation for one another and the rest of the community. This could lead into my next question, where I asked the group “What kind of community do you want to live in?” The unanimous response was that we all wanted to live in a place just like we already do. Martha and Charles both believe that the concept of “southern hospitality” cannot be replicated in the more dense northern cities because it is impossible to know who your community members are. People become numbers on a statistics sheet rather than names and faces that Heather argues “feel more like family”. Kristen believes a community should be safe enough that kids can play outside without their parents hawking them, prompting Martha to lament, “When I was growing up, we didn’t lock our doors.” Today, it is difficult to imagine leaving your home and family defenseless, but my ideal community would have enough love and respect for one another that there would be no need for locks on the door.

Later in our meal, I poked another burning question upon the desks, this one more tailored to the adults at the table. “How do you think your job relates to your role as a citizen?” Martha was the first to speak once again, beginning with, “Oh Lord!” She then detailed her experiences as a social worker in Perry County, Kentucky where she experienced many broken lives and families on a daily basis. Heather then commented that as a teacher, she knew she influenced hundreds of students each and every day, some more than others. Charles then noted that as a mechanic, he doesn’t deal with people directly as often as the others, but he knows his work is responsible for the safety of countless people. I added my experience as a grocery store worker where I worked around the public and enjoyed helping elderly women to their cars and having brief conversations with customers. Overall, we all agreed that whatever the job was, it wasn’t simply to receive a paycheck, but rather the job was a vessel to serve others in the community in whatever way that the job made possible.

Heather, Kristen, and I were the three most conservative at the table. We each opposed government welfare programs, contrary to Martha and Charles. I cannot speak for Heather and Kristen, but a very different side of the issue struck me when Martha recalled memories from deep in her past. She shared with us a story that her mother told her long ago about how harshly the Great Depression treated the coal mining industry of Southeastern Kentucky. Her parents and others were so starved for food in the height of the depression that they waded 4 miles of knee-high snow in November of 1932 in order to vote for FDR and his New Deal program. Not only did this strike me as a horror that I could not imagine, but it also defined what a true citizen should do: go out at any cost to vote for what you believe is right.

In To Hell with Good Intentions, Ivan Illich argues that Americans should stay out of foreign aid until they fix problems in their own country. The conversation at our kitchen table agrees with Illich to an extent, because it was our shared belief that American communities should be closely connected and loving, while many communities in America are hostile environments that are in need of repair. America is a strong nation but a broken one, just as Illich says, and the only way for us to fix our broken nation is for our communities to love one another once again. Furthermore, our broken communities are a wicked problem. This is true since every day our communities become more and more broken as long as we don’t love our neighbors, and the only way for the problem to truly be solved is for everyday citizens to take action and become better members of their communities, rather than staying grounded on what they believe is correct.

The Kentucky Kitchen Table was so much more than the assignment I had anticipated. The opportunity to sit at dinner with people who share different backgrounds and opinions was something I expected to be argumentative, but instead it was a learning experience for everyone in attendance, especially myself. Often times I get caught up in my own worldview and shut down contrasting opinions as incorrect, but sitting at dinner with these people allowed me the opportunity to connect with them like they were family, thus opening my mind to why people believe what they do. Put simply, I learned from my peers that right and wrong are the extremes of the political spectrum, but following the “golden rule” as a citizen can have many different outcomes that are all right. I only wish there was an opportunity for others to sit and learn from their neighbors as to why they are different, rather than pushing them away because of their differences.