Discussion Salon Invites Conversation On Broad Topics

By Nancy K. Crevier

“I do have a sense that there is an unmet need to get out and talk about what’s going on in the world,” said Ben Roberts. “We’ve become somewhat isolated with little opportunity to let go of what’s in our heads,” he said.

With that in mind, Mr Roberts has initiated a weekly Discussion Salon at Mocha Coffeehouse on Glen Road where he hopes men and women of varied backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, and opinions can gather to offer different viewpoints on a variety of topics in a respectful atmosphere.

He put out feelers the first week in March via email, inviting the curious to join him at the initial meeting on March 9, from 7 to 9 pm, and to post topic ideas at his website consciousfinancialdirections.com.

Nineteen people responded to the invitation. “I’m thrilled about the way it succeeded. It was beyond my anticipation,” said Mr Roberts. The participants were fairly evenly divided between men and women, he said, and balanced among an age group of 40 years and up.

The group focused on three topics during the evening. “We touched on health care reform; and a bill to form a Department of Peace is up again at the federal level, so we talked about that; and the topic we elaborated upon during the second hour was the question of ‘What do we make of experiences we or others have that challenge or defy our scientific or objective view of the world?’” Mr Roberts said.

“People really enjoyed having a forum to come together. It was fun, stimulating, and thought-provoking, I think,” said Mr Roberts.

Scot Fritz of Danbury was one of those who attended the discussion group. An acquaintance of Mr Roberts’ from the Universalist Congregation of Danbury, he was there to offer support, he said. “And we love to talk,” he added. Mr Fritz was impressed by the format. “The fact that Ben had a design for how things would go, went very well,” he said. “I was surprised at the number of people who attended.”

Having taken part in “conversation cafés” at financial seminars, and in visiting the continuing education discussion group to which his mother belongs in Texas, Mr Roberts has put together a format that he thinks will offer participants plenty of time to discuss three or four different topics and then to facilitate a more in-depth guided discussion on the particular points of one of those topics.

Choosing Topics

The plan to select topics by a vote at the beginning of each evening went very well at the first Salon, and Mr Roberts hopes that by doing so, people will have the chance to talk to and respond to each other. “It is very free form,” he said, “but hopefully making sure that whoever wants to can express him or herself. I’d like to see us get away from ‘minispeeches,’ just talking at each other.”

“It was very exciting the way Ben organized the discussion and kept the discussions up and running,” said Susan Jackson of Georgetown, who also attended the meeting. She has taken part in many other discussion groups over the years, she said, but felt that the format put together by Mr Roberts was the best yet.

“There were definitely people there with diverse views,” said Ms Jackson. Particularly when talking about the topic that touched on people’s spiritual beliefs, the discussion was emotional but went smoothly, she said. “It was not polarizing, at all. It wasn’t arguing, it was discussing. It was great,” Ms Jackson said, adding that she plans to make an effort to bring other people with her to the next meeting who hold different viewpoints from her own.

Also in attendance on Monday evening was Chris Mangieri, who lives in Monroe but works in Sandy Hook. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it was pretty interesting,” said Mr Mangieri. “There was a different mix of people, a lot of them not from Newtown.” The atmosphere was overall amicable, he thought, with the variety of topics generally intriguing. “Everybody took the exchange of ideas with good humor. It was pretty good, and informative,” he said.

Mr Roberts is not new to planting the seed for a new idea and encouraging others to run with it. A financial advisor based in Sandy Hook, Mr Roberts has also worked as a trader and institutional salesperson, and on Wall Street in foreign bond trading. A passionate golfer, after he left Wall Street he developed an idea for an indoor golf facility and opened the Golf Training Center in Norwalk, which he managed for eight years.

He then sought work that would be more meaningful, settling on socially responsible investing. He explains on his website, “It appealed to me as a way to act on many of the pressing issues facing us as a society, while making practical use of my financial expertise.”

Broad Interactions

The Discussion Salon is a chance to broaden his own interaction with people of different viewpoints, and to bring together friends and strangers to talk about many of those pressing issues — everything from politics, to science, to spirituality, to local events. “Whatever the topics are that come up are fine with me,” said Mr Roberts, who plans to act mainly as a moderator at the discussions, but throw in his two cents worth, as well.

“I see this as building community. The opportunities to do something like this are somewhat limited,” he explained.

Will there be an interest in continuing the dialogue beyond the weekly salon? “I’ll be satisfied if we just have fun,” said Mr Roberts, “but I do have a vision of something more substantive that will come out of it. There are a lot of issues out there creating hot debate. Maybe the different viewpoints can take us to a point of mutual respect.”

The next Discussion Salon is scheduled for Monday, March 16, from 7 to 9 pm, at Mocha Coffeehouse. There is no need to commit to attending every week, said Mr Roberts. Drop-ins are welcome, although he encourages people to RSVP at his website and suggest topics there. “But that’s not necessary,” he emphasized. “New faces will always be welcome and I expect sporadic attendance from some, regular attendance by some — it’s hard to say. It’s an experiment.”