This North Carolina Coffee Group Is Making Civil Conversations Great Again
Image by Courtesy Steve Mostofsky
By Steve Mostofsky February 2, 2017
I am part of a group that gathers at a local Starbucks in North Carolina most mornings. I am 1 of 4 of the most regular. We are a diverse group. 3 are transplants from the New York metro area, and 1 is a local. 2 of us voted for Donald Trump, 2 for Hillary Clinton. Conversation during the election were very “interesting.” Frankly, towards the end, when our local friend was with us, we turned from politics to sports.
This group has been together for over 10 years. I would have never imagined the local and I would become what I consider good friends. I am a Jewish “kid” who grew up in The Bronx. My friend is an ex-fireman, born again Christian who grew up on a farm that is now surrounded by suburban sprawl.
My friend’s mother recently passed, and he has decided to move to a more rural part of the state that would replicate his home when he was growing up. I will miss getting his point of view — and I hope he will miss getting mine.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
