Saturday, October 27, 2012

THE AMERICAN DREAM: WHAT MAKES IT WORK? Mohini Nagindas


“Listen. Talk. Work it Out.” October is Conflict Resolution Month in Colorado. Mary E. Zinn, the President of Zinn Mediation Associates, organized a dialogue about the American Dream at the Regis University. Her mission is to find peaceful alternatives towards conflict amongst our community.

I have never attended a dialogue before and so I did not know what to expect, would I be in a situation where I may feel uncomfortable in a different environment and also I didn’t intend on creating conflict with a person I did not know. All this was a waste of time thinking about because I am so fortunate I had the opportunity to be here. In total there were about 80 people who attended this dialogue and when we entered we were split into groups of 8, and then towards the end of the dialogue we formed into larger groups so that we could conclude our thoughts.

 I believe that the American dream is about freedom and opportunity and this is what I felt at the dialogue. We had freedom of speech freedom to share our opinions and the opportunity to present it to an audience who was so welcoming, and encouraged ideas we had. Although they were not agreeing with all the ideas projected, there was respect for sharing ideas. They listened and respected what each member of the group had to share. I truly felt that I was really fortunate attending this dialogue because I walked away with future contacts who can make my dream of service come true and also people who appreciate all that you do in this world and that in order to create an impact, you need to start with just one person. 

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