Waupaca Roundtable plans forum on guns
By Robert Cloud
A local group wants to encourage civil discourse about tough topics.
Called the Waupaca Roundtable, the group includes Republicans, Democrats and independents; conservatives, moderates and liberals; and educators, social workers, media, marketing and human resource professionals, among others.
Their goal is to organize community forums that exemplify civility.
Dan Naylor, who ran for the Wisconsin Assembly in 2006, is the driving force behind the group.
He believes conversations often shut down before they start because people with differing opinions are not willing to listen to each other.
“If we want to resolve an issue, if we want to solve a problem, we need to hear and understand people in terms of the positions they have taken,” Naylor said.
The Waupaca Roundtable plans to organize panels of people with diverse opinions on issues of concern.
Members on the panel will model civility by actively listening to each other, using factual, research-based information and speaking to the point.
Drawing from “Civility: American Politics and Christian Responses” by James Calvin Davis, Naylor identifies four virtues of civility:
• Patience allows us to relate to the person we disagree with not as an obstacle but as a conversation partner.
• Integrity requires us to be honest and accurate when discussing the opposing positions.
• Humility reminds us we do not know everything there is to know on a particular subject and leaves us open to change our minds.
• Mutual Respect means we respect our opponents as human beings, as citizens with a right to engage in politics and to be heard.
Naylor said civility is not simply about compromise.
“It doesn’t mean we agree and it doesn’t mean we don’t have passions and hold to our values,” Naylor said.
Civility means disagreeing with others while respecting their sincerity and decency.
Last year, the Waupaca Area Public Library hosted a Civil Discussion Series, moderated by Jessica Beckendorf, with Waupaca County’s UW-Extension office.
“That was somewhat similar to what we’re proposing with the Waupaca Roundtable,” Naylor said.
In February, the Waupaca Roundtable plans to hold a forum on guns and the community.
The panel will discuss issues associated with gun ownership, gun violence and two recent state legislative proposals for red flag laws and universal background checks on gun sales.