First Cut

The suggested topics have been summarized for discussion purpose. The topics are organized in two tiers, general topics and a subtopics. A general topic will be the focus of a single meeting. The subtopics will be points of discussion. If there is enough interest in a subtopic, it could become a general topic of a following meeting with subtopics of its own. So as a group  we will zoom-in on the topics which interest us.

Please leave comments or send email to add, clarify or rearrange any topic below.

Updated 8/24/13

▾ ☐ Education
   - ☐ Teaching profession
   - ☐ Selection of majors, how the match or influence personality
▾ ☐ Health
   - ☐ Aging
   - ☐ Increasing longevity
▾ ☐ Foreign Policy
   - ☐ Ways to reduce terrorism
   - ☐ Israeli-Palestinian conflict
   - ☐ Yemen and al-Qaida
▾ ☐ Politics
   - ☐ Immigration
   ▾ ☐ Abortion
       - ☐ To what extent men should be involved in the decision
       - ☐ Why not leave it a private matter
   ▾ ☐ Voting rights
       - ☐ The New Jim Crow
   - ☐ Guns in America
▾ ☐ Economy
   - ☐ Capitalism v. Socialism
   ▾ ☐ Globalization
       - ☐ Unemployment in the US and the world
       - ☐ Impact of imports on consumer goods
       - ☐ Efficiency vs service in retail
       - ☐ Effects on environment
   - ☐ Income inequity, shrinking middle class and social resentment
▾ ☐ Social Conscience
   ▾ ☐ Criminal justice, prison population, mandatory sentencing
       - ☐ Mandatory sentencing reform
   - ☐ Idealism
   - ☐ Ethical issues - medical, social, business, political, etc
   - ☐ Racism
   - ☐ Cultural, spiritual, and institutional problems facing the nation
   ▾ ☐ Inter-generational conversation
       - ☐ What would you do differently
       - ☐ What advice to give grandchildren
   - ☐ How society can shape an individual's conscience
   - ☐ How hard times shape social consciousness 
▾ ☐ Security
   - ☐ Defense concerns
   - ☐ Privacy
   - ☐ Drones
   - ☐ Wars, how they start, how to stop