Room For Discussion (1952)

[Music] discussion is the privilege and the responsibility of all citizens living in a democracy responsibility Dennis Blake never thought so he figured that if you had a problem especially a personal problem you made up your own mind about how to solve it and that was that what's the matter you haven't said a word all day now what's there to say I've made up my mind not to go to college and that's that what's wrong WR with you anyway you want to go don't you no I don't and I don't want to be told what I want to do I've got it all figured out in my own mind I'm not going I know the reasons and I'm satisfied so why don't you guys let me alone satisfied or am I or maybe I haven't got the thing as clear in my mind as I pretend sure it's nice to talk about going to work instead of school sure it sounds like the right thing to do but but if I knew that the old man's pocketbook could stand in the Gap I guess I might think twice oh well what's the use of talking about it I'm going to work and that's all there is to it oh Dennis yes come on in for a minute will you son you haven't been saying much lately something on your mind no nothing by the way these came for you by mail what's all this I never sent for anything like this relax it was my idea let's talk it over right now what's there to say Dad we all know what the facts are I'm not so sure we do Dennis I'm TI of your brooding around the place now I think the time has come to get some fresh air onto this problem and we're just going to sit down and talk it out good Harriet I'm glad you're here well I suppose it's up to me to start it off I think you ought to go to college I think you really should you can't possibly imagine what a college education will mean to you later in life I think I can Dad after all most of the fellas are going and I've had plenty of chances to hear them talk about it but look you know we can't afford it well that's very considerate of you to feel that way son but don't you think it's a matter for your father me to work out no he's right Harriet the truth of the matter is we can't afford the usual college but if you're willing to work hard and give up some things and we give up some things maybe we can manage it what do you mean either I can go or I can't fortunately it's not so simple I've been looking through these catalogues and there are great many ways that a person can get a college education these days it isn't always necessary to go to the big school with a big campus although it does have its advantages oh gee I never thought about that let's see now are you all agreed on this well d is going to send for more detailed information from two colleges where you work part of the time and study the other right and I'm going to figure out how to pay for oneir of whatever the tuition cost may be and whatever I can't earn by the jobs the college arranges for me I can make working during the summer I can see myself now digging ditches gee Dad I'm glad we talked it over all wait the fellas here about this yes talking it over is a natural process and one that can be effective whether it concerns personal problems family problems or problems of society at large among the workers in this manufacturing plant there is a different type of discussion going on a grievance sessions discussions just a stall the only way they'll settle these Grievances and know we means business is if we go on strike yeah let's hit the bricks so we hit the bricks what do my kids eat while we're off the payroll the way it's working now you'll be fired anyway get wise to yourself okay let's let's go to the meeting tonight and tell our grievance committee we mean business let's give them one more chance to get some action out of management and it looks to me as though our discipline is getting out of hand all over the plant that's why we've got to push this Joe Adams case our position may be a little weak I looked into this whole thing pretty carefully and it looks to me as if the fault was about equally divided what kind of talk is that the foreman is our man we've got to stand behind him you said it sooner or later we got to show who boss around here we're all set then oh okay let's hit this one hard farell you've got to see our side you admit that in this case Joe did get into a fight on the floor and we can't permit that to happen we must have discipline okay okay Mr Smith but you forget that the foreman swore at Joe first and we're not going to stand for that then there are these other 15 grievances that aren't settled yet listen frell we're willing to try Joe out again but we insist that he take a discipline AR 10day layoff without pay then we can get to the other grievances sure the foreman gets away with murder and we take it on the chin we can't blame the foreman much for losing his head he had plenty of reasons to and besides he represents management doesn't he your job to see that he knows how to supervise men are you trying to tell me how to run my business I told you phoh we're just wasting our time let's report back to the membership maybe they'll settle this when the men are out in the streets and the company can't fill its orders [Music] but this is not what happened calmer heads on both sides of the table prevailed the discussion went on there were recesses while each side had smaller discussions of its own and then this happened well that proposition makes sense to me you reinstate Joe dock him for the day of the fight and we'll try and work along with that foreman all right but remember no more fights on the floor okay well now that that's out of the way let's see if we can't settle some of these other Grievances and we'll report back to the membership and I think they'll go along all right let's take them one at a time and see what we can come up with here um which one is as a result of the agreement this happened and this and this and [Music] this however discussion is not confined merely to family problems nor just to the problems between management and labor in most of man's relationships with his fellow men discussion plays a vital role but what exactly is discussion is this discussion is this discussion can free discussion take place here let us Define discussion it's a free communication of ideas and knowledge and the pooling of the ideas of several people into a new and bigger idea where can discussion take place it reaches is its highest development only in a free Society without it indeed a free Society cannot endure some groups discuss to improve their thinking understanding and knowledge in doing so they deepen their appreciation of human relations and group processes other groups discuss in order to arrive at decision and action but regardless of the purpose of the particular meeting good discussion on the intellectual plane helps people both as individuals and as groups to act more wisely and good discussion on the plane of action helps people alone and together better to think to know and to understand discussion both for understanding and for action has existed from the very beginning of the free Society of men have we not admitted that the rulers may be mistaken about their own interest in what they command and also that to obey them is Justice yes in that case is there any escape from the conclusion that the weaker are commanded to do not what is for the interest but what is for the injury of the stronger nothing can be clear yes if you're allowed to be his witness there is no need of any witness trmus himself acknowledges that rulers May sometimes command what is not their own interest and that for subjects to obey them is just this was discussion to gain understanding here there was no intention that as a result of the exchange of opinions and ideas any direct action would be taken however at the same time in ancient Greece other men were discussing it may well be that failing to wage war at this stage will prove more costly at a later date how so after our enemy has subjugated our colony and enslaved its subjects do you think they will be content to Halt there you must remember that the enemy feel they have as much right to the Colony as we have discussions for understanding or for actions such as these which took place in ancient Greece have existed wherever men were free to State their opinions in colonial days in the United States a discussion group called The jento was formed by Benjamin Franklin it made little difference whether or not any decision was made or problem solved merely the exchange of ideas and opinions helped the these men gain in stature and knowledge one of the greatest examples of discussion leading to action was the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia their work brought forth a document that with its subsequent amendments has been the most forceful instrument in preserving the unity and freedom of democratic principles in this country today in Senate subcommittee rooms important issues of the day are disc discussed and recommendations made but discussion can be useful not only where National or international issues are at stake but in everyone's daily life and work Farmers Housewives athletes doctors you can say things in many ways and many languages you may be right or wrong it is well to remember that it is vitally important that discussion exists whether between individuals or nations too often have men seen headlines such as these if discussion is so valuable why not use it more deliberately and consciously this idea which is not a new one has many Advocates today everywhere groups are meeting and using one of two basic methods to organize their Collective thoughts in the first case a group makes some use of an outside resource such as a guest expert a panel a film a book or a document a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal that they are in now wait a minute wait a minute that does and add up you can't sell me the fancy notion that all men are created equal ditto on that I know the Declaration of Independence and a lot of things in it aren't self-evident to me it seems to me there are two different questions George brought his up first so let's start with that well it doesn't make sense to say that Joe does born on the wrong side of the tracks is the equal of the bank president son but don't you suppose Mr Jefferson was smart enough to think of that too where did he hide the answer the Declaration of dependence isn't supposed to be a crossword puzzle I can read as well as an X-Man and it says in big print all men are created equal well I can punch that full of holes too how about the sharecropper or crippled children are they equal we're wandering away from the main truth I think what Jefferson had in mind was political equality and religious equality I don't think he was referring to material things at all you mean that under the law all men are treated as equals that they share equal rights exactly equality of opportunity when he said all men did he mean just men or women too oh both I'm sure then you can't say political equality the women couldn't vote until the 19th amendment was passed maybe in those days women didn't care about politics or voting well I think Jim's right about the religious angle that all people were created equal in the sight of God what good are all these people getting out of all this the group by using the Declaration of Independence as a basis for discussion is getting a better understanding of equality and the stimulation of a group experience now for the second method of organized discussion a group pooling its own experience and judgment which means using its own resources all right ladies uh since everyone is here and on time let's start our discussion for this week uh we all decided to go into the subject of allowances for our children do we all agree that our children should have allowances at all there can't be any argument about that it's healthy training for them to have some money of their own well not only that but it gives them responsibility it teaches them how to care for their money and and in later life it'll help them understand better how to save and what to spend well I think we all agree children should have some sort of allowance now we're faced with a problem of how much does everyone agree with that well and now I believe the next step is to discuss the amount that's what bothers me my son came home last Friday from school and he said 50 cents a week wasn't enough because Mrs welman's boy is getting a dollar and a half a week why can't he get the same well I don't see what's wrong with a dollar and a half well if you can afford it it's wonderful but I can't my budget won't allow it that's what's wrong Mrs Miller has a very strong point there uh what do you have to say Mrs George as long as I can afford it I don't see why I shouldn't give my boy anything I can give him not If it creates trouble and dissatisfaction why give a child a false feeling of of superiority superiority may show itself in many ways one child may be smarter than the other one more athletic and so allowances may be one way of showing superiority well I still think we should all agree on the same [Music] allowance but should it be given strictly as an allowance or more in the nature of a reward for doing something good like like washing dishes but if you did it that way then children would expect to be paid for everything they did well at least they'd learn early that you don't get something for nothing that you have to work for it well I I guess it all goes back to what you think a family is a place where everyone pitches into help or a place where children can learn to solve their own problems shouldn't it be bold these ladies may not all agree but one thing is certain discussion has helped them to gain Insight they didn't previously have perhaps as a result each can make her own family a better one yes there is no question of the benefits derived from discussion but it's important not only to discuss but discuss well there is a right way and a wrong way this meeting was called for 7:30 but no one seemed interested if they had been they would have been untimed [Music] this man has already been talking for 20 minutes giving no one else a chance to participate in what's supposed to be a discussion not a lecture now the group is forgetting that a topic for discussion was selected stick to it this is supposed to be one Discussion Group not three or four this group will never know what the first speaker's final point was because Bill and the rest of them as well didn't realize that listening is just as important as speaking these people met in order to discuss but they gained very little more than frustration if they'd been consciously aware of themselves as a group and had been willing to accept their responsibilities as members of a group they discussed might have been more like this none of these people made long speeches everyone had a chance to participate the members of the group stuck to the topic they had gathered to discuss they acted as one group not as three or four yes these people were aware of themselves as a group and were willing to take responsibility as members of the group but who are these people what are their backgrounds what is belonging to a discussion group group done for them membership in a discussion group means different things to different people to some it's something special two others participating in a discussion group meant a new experience in using one of the tools of Freedom Joe kovski lived in a country which had lost its freedom his life was regimented from morning until night both his work and his ideas when he got to this country it didn't take him long to find a job but he still didn't understand how to use that freedom which was now part of his environment until he became a member of a discussion group but don't you suppose Mr Jefferson was smart enough to think of that too here he found a place where he could express his opinions and they'd be listened to where he heard the opinions of others and could express his agreement or disagreement yes here Joe found that democracy really existed to George Bruce the discussion group meant a new dimension to his life his business day began at 8:00 in the morning and did not end when the official working day was over or until he was ready to go to bed George why don't you try to relax every night you bring your office home strapped right on your back would you rather have me stay at the office and work well you don't have to kill yourself and you don't have to give up every other interest in the world okay I'll buy that point in certain things it doesn't matter what side of the tracks people are born on they enjoy equal opportunity but I still say exactly equality of opportunity in the discussion group George Bruce found another interest he thought through problems which he' never begun to think about before and started his life towards a more well-rounded pattern to Bill and Lancy Gates the discussion group was just as important important we should never have moved here from Springfield Bill you're at the factory all day and I don't know a soul in this town Nancy we moved here for a good reason a better job for me opportunities for both of us we'll meet some people pretty soon I guess it takes a little time but that's right but maybe there is something that we could do I hope so well I can punch that full of holes too what about the sharecroppers and crippled children are they equal bill and Nancy not only a fuller life from their participation in the discussion group but had brought them companionship and new friendships Miss King didn't have too much Variety in her life to her it was extremely interesting even exciting but she soon realized that a broader knowledge would make her relationships more interesting more exciting when he said all men did he mean just men or women too Miss King found out what other people were thinking found out that there were points of conversation and interest other than those she'd been living with for many years the values that come from a discussion group are varied but to most people life can achieve a new dimension personal Effectiveness is heightened through a better understanding of people and how they work together above all is the social importance of the discussion group it Bridges the gap between the single individual the family and the great mass of society making it a medium through which the modern world can face its problems with great intelligence and greater understanding discussion when it is effective discussion has many values let's take them up one at a [Music] time discussion brings to the individual a broader and richer life it pools experience information and intelligence it gives people a greater understanding of the process by which groups may work together effectively it makes peaceful intelligent cooperation possible the free way of life depends upon peaceful intelligent cooperation it is one of the first things to go when a free Society goes to derive the most benefit from discussion you must learn to do it well discussion is a Democratic symbol of Freedom it leads to peace one of these is the right of free speech so use it and use it well