Welcome to the Cafe
I’ve always loved good conversations about topics that matter. Some of my best memories involve being huddled in a cozy cafe with some friends and sharing a warm coffee or a glass of wine while discussing the issues.
Those were conversations where people listened to each other and carefully considered each other’s viewpoints. They were conversations where people were willing to consider taking a new viewpoint if the facts and logic were compelling.
Essential Issues seeks to foster those good conversations in a virtual cafe. We won’t be able to share coffee or wine, but you are welcome to have a cup or glass while you read or comment.
This idea draws inspiration from the Café philosophiques that were hosted at the Cafe des Phares in Paris by philosopher Marc Sautet starting around 1992. Dr. Sautet would gather his friends on Sunday mornings for intense discussion on the critical issues of the day. He intended to foster basic principles of reasoning by the general public, not just elites. According to Wikipedia, “His first meetings started with only a dozen or so people. But soon university students showed up, followed by eccentric citizens off the street, off-duty cab drivers, and idle wealthy women until it became a weekly event that grew in popularity to about 200 people at each meeting.”
About Me
I’m Doug Walton, a writer, researcher, and transformational change consultant. This cafe idea is not new to me—I have been working on concepts for having virtual cafes in the public sphere for over two decades. I published some of my initial ideas in my 2007 book "Internet-based Framework for Empowering Social Change."
You can read about how my interest in dialogue developed in this article:
I’ve accomplished a bunch of other things along the way. Some of these are listed below.
Over 40 years in leading transformational change programs in Fortune 500 companies and other businesses, mostly in high-tech.
Author of Generating Change, a book on human change methods that can be used by anyone.
Founder of empowerbase.com and developer of geriwalton.com, a history website.
Adjunct professor of organizational leadership and systems at a couple of graduate schools.
A lifelong learning aficionado with four university degrees: a bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees, and a PhD.
See my LinkedIn for more on that.
How This Works
One of the findings from my research is that a good online dialogue needs a little more structure than an in-person discussion. So, I will seek to have a small process like this:
I post articles that seek to clearly and rationally outline the facts of a situation. I’m not pushing any political agenda. My goal is to be objective and factual. Too much of the conversation on social media and the mainstream news is about confusing the facts to wind up people for political gain, book sales, and viewers. So, an evidence-based framework is necessary for informed discussion.
I invite honest comments and inquiries on the articles. I will seek to moderate it to keep it civil and productive.
If there is enough conversation, I’ll capture it into a new article that represents our community view.
Ideally, once we have alignment, we can discuss how we can act together to enact our view of the world.
Dialogue about politics and philosophy in small groups was common during the birth of democracy in the 18th century, and it’s something that I have been seeking ways to restore in the virtual world. It certainly seems like the current public discourse could benefit from more thoughtful and rational discussion.
Subscribe now to be part of the conversation and take the first step together to create a better future!
