Coffee & Conversation: Trending – The Spirit of the America Time?

I’m down for a little Coffee and Conversation.

My beautiful children – dripping with the odor of teen spirit – are fired up. They’ve checked out the posts, updates, hashtags, links, and chatter. They’re arguing with me and asking questions. They’re tossing ideas about justice and doing the right thing. They are interested and interesting – for this moment.

What’s the deal with the shooting of Treyvon Martin and should we be down with the April 20, Kony night cover? They still want to talk about it. Should we?

Are my children just giving in to the marketing and oversimplification of an old monster and a recent news story? Are these online clicks the tipping point for putting their bodies to use – for action. Is there a hunger out there that the Kony and Martin gigs have found? A hunger for what – justice? To make a difference?

And, what’s up with all the scorn from the old-heads? Jealousy? Mortality in the new world? Condescending?

What to do in public when the issues are distant and complex? Who tells these stories? How do we tell the story?

I’m down for a little Coffee and Conversation today. Let’s talk about whether I’m just deeding my children’s love of themselves, elitism and indifference. Should the Martin and Kony “stories” be on our front pages and screens? What’s the endgame and has all this done more good than harm?

I’ll bring the coffee, cookies, and different format. Today, we’re live-chatting (and streaming) from the George Sherman Union’s Ballroom – 3-5 p.m.  I’m also bringing Ruha Benjamin (Boston University Sociology Professor) and Margie Dillenberg (former movement director of Invisible Children) to help keep the conversation jumping.

Peace.