Sean Kershaw's Weblog
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May 3, 2007
The Beauty of "Civic Randomness"
At Nate Garvis's "Uncivil Discourse" speech in May, one of the benefits of joining the Citizens League that night was an opportunity to have dinner with Nate. From the people that did so that night, we chose eight people at random to gather for dinner, which occurred this past Tuesday at the house of Katherine Nelson in Saint Paul. (Ann Kirby McGill prepared a phenomenal meal, and Katherine and her family were perfect hosts.)
It was a fantastic evening -- and not just because it was an opportunity to continue the great conversation that Nate started. There was a real magic in the randomness -- that we didn't all know each other going into the evening. The dynamics of the conversation and the ability to learn about each other were really unique because of that.
It made me think that we should try to find other ways to replicate this in our work. People have always said that they join the Citizens League for the chance to meet a politically diverse group of people that share a set of civic values, so why don't we find ways to "exploit" this? Is it possible that we could replicate what happened this evening? Could we find ways for members to host conversations with a set of randomly selected members? Can you imagine how the results of these conversations, both in terms of creative ideas and new relationships, could "add up" over time?
Posted by Sean Kershaw at May 3, 2007 5:27 AM
Comments
I love the idea of "Civic Randomness" and am very curious to see the wonderful things that the Citizens League could do with this.
Posted by: Suzanne | May 4, 2007 2:43 PM