Here is my pre-flection on public dialogue. First of all, let's define the term public dialogue. Public dialogue is public talk on matters that concern us all. We are experiencing public dialogue everyday but many of us are not aware of that. As we approach the mid-term election day, I see more and more examples of public dialogue. From raising minimum wages to the war in Iraq, people are dicussing and expressing their thoughts to one another on all the matters that concern the American people. That, to my understanding, is public dialogue. Even though we use public dialogue everyday, it still doesn't mean we are all experts on it. Public dialogue requires skills such as
- Active listening (Is it possible to have a dialogue if no one listen?)
- Identifying important matters that truly concerning to the majority (It doesn't matter what color I should wear to class tomorrow!)
- Respect (part of civilization)
- Constructive and positive participation (I feel that to be successful when it comes to communication, this part is truly need)
Here is my article of the week on the topic of public dialogue...
http://www.theolympian.com/101/story/49149.html
The article is about the mid-term election this Tuesday. From I-933 to balancing out the control of the Congress, the article collects opinions of different people from the state of Washington and discuss it openly and publicly. I might be wrong but I felt that the article reflect the art of public dialogue very clearly. I feel that getting the Congress back under Democratic control is very important because the Democrate should have their say on important issues surrounded our nation like war on Iraq... Democratic control of Congress is matter that concerned us all and the article desmonstrate different opinions of different people as they discuss these issues/matters.

Here is my reflection on the art of public dialogue.
-Public talk on matters that affect us all
-Talks in which differences are valued

PLUSES about public dialogue:
-Reveals interests
-Expands and deepens knowledge
-Generates alternatives

How to achieve public dialogue:
-Face to face conversation
-Neutral facilitator
-Resource materials
-Explore values beneath positions
-Start small to build trust

Application: As the Irag war goes on without visible success, there are more public dialogues surrounding the issues of bringing our troops home, and letting the Iraqi goverment lead their own country. People, like the senators from both Democrats and Republic parties started to have conversations where they can express their thoughts and opinions and ideas to solve the issues. I also experienced public dialogue at PSEC. Every Monday, we come to community meeting. At community meeting, we would discuss publicly topics likes limited parking space, interaction between cohorts and so on. These topics are concerned matters to us all at PSEC and that's public dialogue in action. We truly generate more alternatives through the art of public dialogue.