November 2, 2016: “My First Car / My Favorite Car!” Americans love automobiles. What was your first car? A ’57 Chevy? A Mustang? An Edsel? How much did it cost? Did it get good gas mileage? Was your first car your favorite car? Did it help you to meet girls?
November 9, 2016: : “The First Hundred Days.” Election Day will have happened by the time we meet on Wednesday, November 9, 2016. Unless there is a need for a vote recount, we will now know who will be president for the next four years. What should the new president realistically set out to accomplish in his or her first one-hundred days in office?
November 16, 2016: “Veterans Day.” Originally named “Armistice Day” to commemorate the end of World War I, the holiday was renamed “Veterans Day” in 1954 to honor all veterans. But is America doing enough to take care of the physical and emotional needs of war veterans who are coming back from active combat duty? We will discuss.
November 23, 2016: “Thanksgiving.” Perhaps the most uniquely American of all the holidays we celebrate, Thanksgiving was made a federal holiday by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 during the Civil War. What are your favorite Thanksgiving memories? Did your family eat the traditional Thanksgiving foods? Did you ever see the Macy’s Parade in person?
November 30, 2016: : “Taking a Knee.” Earlier this year, National Football League quarterback Colin Kaepernick created a controversy by ‘taking a knee’ during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner to protest unjust treatment of African-Americans and other people of color in the United States. Is Kaepernick’s protest appropriate? Is his cause just? We will debate the issue.
December 7, 2016: “Pearl Harbor.” Today is the 75th anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor. For those men in our group who are old enough, what are your memories of hearing about the attacks? How old were you? Then all of us will discuss more theoretical questions: Could anything have been done to prevent the attacks? Without those attacks, would the United States have entered World War II against Japan? Against Germany? If not, how would the world look today?
December 14, 2016: : “The 100 Best TV Shows.” Rolling Stone magazine recently dedicated an issue to the 100 best television shows of all time. What were your favorite TV shows? What did those shows mean to you? Which shows were very popular, but you didn’t like them?
December 21, 2016: : “Chanukah and Christmas.” This year, Chanukah begins on the same night as Christmas Eve. What are your favorite childhood memories of the two holidays? How did you celebrate with your family? If you are Jewish, did you ever trim a Christmas tree or attend Midnight Mass? If you are not Jewish, did you ever light a menorah? Did you share the holidays with friends and neighbors who were not members of your “tribe?” Today we will share our favorite holiday experiences.
December 28, 2016: : “New Year’s Resolutions!” Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution? Did you keep it? How fast did you break it? If you were to make a few resolutions for the upcoming new year of 2017, what would they be?