Are We Even a Nation?
What makes a people? Aristotle thought humans are made for life together, and that anyone who can live without community is either a beast or a god. Augustine said a people is defined by what it loves in common. Han says we’ve traded real others for endless mirrors of ourselves. When neighbors no longer share loves, facts, or even news feeds, are we still a nation, or just a crowd? What would it take to become one again?
What to expect
We’ll read the source texts aloud together, so there’s no homework. A few questions will launch the conversation, and from there it goes where it goes. We close the evening by giving anyone who wants it a chance to share one thing that impressed them.
Readings
Aristotle, Politics, Book 1, chapter 2
Augustine, City of God, Book 19, chapter 24
Byung-Chul Han, The Expulsion of the Other, from “The Terror of the Same”
Rules of engagement
- Share the air. Keep turns short and let others in.
- Attack ideas, not people. Call an idea wrong all you like. No insults, name-calling, or mockery aimed at the people in the room.
- Persuade, don’t evangelize. Make your best case, but no recruiting or deconversion campaigns, here or after.
- The host can call a reset. When the host pauses things or changes direction, we go with it.
Space is limited to keep the conversation real. If you RSVP and can’t make it, please update your RSVP so someone on the waitlist can take your seat.
Crosstalk is for people who hold their convictions deeply and still want to hear yours.
