Spirit of ’76
Welcome to the Spirit of ’76 Cafe.
A centerpiece of the Declaration Project is the Spirit of ’76 Cafe dialogue initiative, where we’ll explore, in a ‘Socratic way,’ questions related to the themes of many of the declarations posted on the Declaration Project.
Questions like: What should we be willing to risk “our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honour” for today? In fact, that’s the first question we’ll explore on our Facebook group. To participate, please click the link below. Join us and get democratic!
Spirit of 76 Facebook discussion group
Join Us by clicking here!
The goal with Spirit of ’76 Cafe, as with all our Democracy Cafe dialogue initiatives — Socrates Cafe, Constitution Cafe, Democracy Cafe, 1st Amendment Conversations with Cops, you name it — is to spur thoughtful inquiry and exploration among everyone from activists across the political spectrum to the politically apathetic. Ideally, for many participants, this will serve as a spur to greater civic action.
As you know, we’re not into debates of a sort in which someone ‘wins’ and someone ‘loses’ — we’re into inquiry, exploration, investigation, of a sort in which all participants ‘win’ by genuinely listening, learning, sharing.
Hopefully you and others immersed in this and the other elements of the Declaration Project will be inspired to develop and discover ever so much more about your views, thanks in some measure to the unique version of the Socratic Method that our exchanges feature. It’s really a method and ethos combined that makes it possible for diverse participants often to discover uncommon common ground, and can foster stronger bonds in ways that lead to more inclusive civic engagement.
Join us in our exchange today — and help us demonstrate that it’s possible to have thoughtful, respectful, impassioned online exchanges.
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