After a man in Ohio got in a fight with some friends over political positions, he realized the country needed a new method of agreeing to disagree.
He created a gathering called Dinner and a Fight, but fight is crossed-out and replaced with “dialogue,” and after 11 such meetings people continue to show up— all with varied opinions, from left to right and independent.
In a Greek Orthodox Church in Akron Ohio, about 30 people sit down for a buffet-style dinner, all the while eyeing five chairs at one end of the hall next to signs that read “agree strongly,” “agree slightly,” “neutral,” “disagree slightly,” and “disagree strongly.”
After dinner, Ted Wetzel, the organizer of Dinner and a Fight who came up with the idea (after a dinner and a fight), announces the polarizing topic to be discussed, such as mask-wearing, or firearm possession.
During the dialogue, fellow organizers use microphones to ensure everyone understands it’s a bridge-building exercise; it’s not a debate or a fight, but an attempt to help people see the world differently by understanding the human sentiments beneath hot politicized rhetoric and talking points.
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After the dialogue, dessert is served, and everyone rejoins their table to chew over the difficult topic while eating the sweetest part of the dinner.
A feature piece on Wetzel’s work published in Christian Science Monitor had a reporter tagging along to one Dinner and a Fight, where the topic was whether election results reflect the will of the American people. The talk was productive—and Wetzel compared it to a snow globe.
“When we came in, all the stuff [was] sitting right on the floor – and we shook it up,” he says.
Dinner and a Fight is neither the only nor the first such civil discourse group that is trying to tackle the dramatic polarization in the country, but they tend to heavily lean left.
Wetzel is able to pull in a much greater balance of views, including Trump supporters, thanks to a difficult-to-define mixture of folksy language and imagery. Religious and ethnic minorities join in, too—and a classical melting pot depiction of America emerges.
At the end of the dinner, a wrap-up sheet is left on each table which reads at the top “We will not solve this vexing topic today, but we can make progress.”
A series of wrap-up questions include, “Did the table agree on something today?” Ted Wetzel finds that often, they do agree.
But the diners are always reminded, “It’s okay to disagree”
WATCH the group’s promo below—and check out Wetzel’s resources for anyone who wants to host their own dinner-dialogue…
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