Creating Conversation

There is a restaurant in Pittsburgh, which is trying out something radical in order to create conversation, according to a report on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning. This restaurant serves just one dish from a specific country for one month, then changes to another dish from a different country for another month. Each dish is wrapped in paper printed with facts and quotes about that country, for example, Afghanistan, or Venezuela. The people serving the food know about these facts, so when a customer reads and comments on them, they are able to engage in a meaningful conversation about that country, its culture and its politics. The idea is to spark chat and discover truth about the difference, rather than make ill-informed assumption about our neighbours in the world.

Do we not do that already over food? Apparently not, according to the critics of this project who claim that our cultural dietary requirements actually drive us apart. This is sad, isn't it? That they have no desire to get beyond the outskirts and pursue common ground. The woman cited as a critic in the report described cooking for her Muslim friends, her Jewish friends, claiming it impossible to cook for all of them together because they make it difficult for her by having their parameters. (And she calls these people 'friends'?) What she actually says is that our free will makes her notion of community complicated. She is advocating that we all do things in the same way she does, according to her choices, in order that we can break bread (leavened or otherwise) together.

Yes, community is complicated, but we are richer for that. Wouldn't the world be dull if everyone agreed with you? What kind of monster would I be if everyone did life the way I said they should? Would not my narrow experience stifle you all and bore you to tears in seconds? Difference makes the world go round, and yes sometimes it's tough to find the meeting point but that doesn't mean we don't even try in the first place.

Good work Pittsburgh!

Go on little angels, go out today and create conversation.


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Tunes today are a compilation of the Soundtrack discoveries I've shared over the last couple of months. You lucky people.

{Today's Soundtrack: Today's Soundtrack 2:11}