For over 30 years Kettering Foundation has been researching "What Does It Take To Make Democracy Work As It Should." What citizens do is a key component of the answer. Citizens involved in the Dawsey Sunday School class at the historic Washington Street United Methodist Church in Columbia, SC will focus on the immigration issue by holding a deliberative dialogue Mini-Forum on October 28, 2018, at 10:00 am. Dawsey Class members will use the Kettering Foundation issue Book - Coming to America Who Should We Welcome, What Should We Do? The National Issues Forum Institute deliberative dialogue process of exploring three separate options related to resolving a difficult problem while discussing both benefits and drawbacks of each will be explored. (Class members are asked to pre-read the issue book.)
These options are: 1. We should... welcome immigrants and be a beacon of freedom. 2. We should … enforce the law, and be fair to those who follow the law. 3. We should … slow down and rebuild our common bounds.
Kettering Foundation will develop a final report to summarize results of the forums on this issue being held across the country.
Seemingly our fast paced society allows little time to deliberate contentious issues, yet citizens in a democracy have used deliberative dialogue from the time of early civilization to help solve problems. The Washington Street United Methodist Church webpage ends their "Renewal 2020 Identity Statement" with these words..."We honor traditions rooted in our history, our expression of worship, and our respect for theological curiosity. We nonetheless see vital change and ongoing renewal as essential for spiritual growth."
Washington Street UMC is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and the Church's history dates back to 1804, the Citizens Center for Public Life is honored and feels uplifted to be able to share deliberative dialogue - a process dating back to the ancient Greeks. "We deliberate not about ends, said Aristotle, "But about the means to attain ends." (See Scott London, Thinking Together the Power of Deliberative Dialogue, retrieved October 25, 2018 from www.scottlondon.com.)