When a group of people with different points of view gather at a coffee and conversation friendly place to discuss what matters most to them, you never know what’s going to happen. It’s great when people are able to express their opinions in a respectful manner and listen to what others have to say with an open mind, but this isn’t easy for everyone.
There is no such thing as a perfect conversation where everyone present fully understands and listens to each other. But I would rather people imperfectly communicate than avoid communicating at all. It’s when people choose not to or are not allowed to discuss what matters most to them that I get wary.
Sure, it’s easier to have a conversation with someone who agrees with nearly everything you say, but there is nothing wrong with being questioned and critiqued, asked to reconsider strongly held points of view.
It has been suggested that in a perfect world, everyone would get along. In my preferred world, people would simply talk to each other more. Coffee shops and the like, whether they know it or not, help make this possible.
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[...] and interests might be of value. And though coffeehouse conversation was not always civil—imperfect communication is better than no communication at all—coffeehouses were great social levelers, open to all men and indifferent to social [...]