We started. We had our first conversation with some curious folks who volunteered to test drive this concept and the conversation. Our first group met in the outskirts of Chicago. Chicago is the heart of the heartland, and Illinois is a state with challenges across diverse populations. I was nervous; I knew some of the folks, but not everyone. We came together without political labels – 3 women and 2 men plus me and the photographer (Sarah!). We sat around the dining room table. Our citizen philosophers (CPs) started by writing down their thoughts on two questions: 1) What is the role of our government in our democracy? 2) What is the role of the citizen in the modern United States of America? We agreed that we were lucky to live in the USA, a place where we could have an open discussion on these elemental questions without fear of retribution, and where we hope and trust that we can make things better. We had only glasses of water and some chocolate covered pretzel bites to sustain us.
The Rebirth of the Citizen Philosopher
The conversation went even better than I had hoped. The CPs definitely had different ways of thinking about government, governance and citizenship, but we found agreement on certain principles. It’s too early to say – we have many more miles to travel – but there is definitely an American perspective on the world and a view of how government should be engaged in supporting its citizens. Maybe that seems obvious to some, but after listening to the media over the few years, it felt kind of remote.
We have challenges ahead of us. One CP observed that “it feels like chaos everywhere, in cities, in the federal government, in rural areas.” As a group, folks questioned whether the country really is more chaotic – the statistics tell us that crime is actually lower, that unemployment is at a long time low, that real wages are beginning to rise, but others noted that housing values still have not rebounded in the wake of the 2008 recession and many home owners feel underwater with debt. In the discussion, we realized that we have to find a way to deal with perception and feeling as well as with what the supporting evidence actually says. In this way, the conversation became more textured, seeing that our feelings about our situation were sometimes more powerful than the situation itself. In the end, the CPs agreed that they hoped that government would help counter chaos, not increase it. No one likes chaos.
Tune In and Follow Us
A major theme of the discussion was the importance of individual responsibility with the acknowledgement that we could only be successful if the government were to provide the tools and the frame. What does that mean? The CPs believed that the government is essential in providing solutions or protections for issues that are too big for individuals to solve on their own. Broadly, responsibilities of government were infrastructure, national security, education and healthcare. Further, there was agreement that the governing class needed to be driven by a sense of duty rather than by greed or monetary gain; to govern is to serve and there is honor in that. These are some of our starting thoughts; stay tuned to see how these discussions progress. We’re going to Southern Illinois in a month. We hope to get to Harrisonville, MO sooner. Check back with us!