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Information about Citizenship
Alliance events are a good place to improve your citizenship skills. The purpose of this section is to give you some guidance on how to improve your citizenship skills.
FREE SPEECH
Our nation's founders believed in the competition of ideas. Free Speech is how you participate in this competition of ideas.
Free Speech is a conversation between two roles: A Speaker role and a Listener role. You can improve your Free Speech skills by improving your skills as a speaker and your skills as a listener.
Speaker Role
The goals are clarity and helping the listener understand.
Before you speak, preparing your comments helps you achieve clarity.
While preparing your comments, focus on short comments.
To help the listener achieve understanding, listen to the listener's questions and consider adjusting your comments.
Listener Role
The goals are understanding and helping the speaker achieve clarity.
While listening, focus on understanding the comments not your rebuttal to the comments.
To help the speaker achieve clarity, explain what you don't understand by asking clarifying questions. Do not talk about what you disagree with.
RESPECT
Braver Angels mission is bringing Americans together to bridge the partisan divide and strengthen our democratic republic. Another way of describing this mission is that Americans need to learn to work together despite not thinking alike. Treating fellow Americans with respect is an important part of learning to work together.
To better understand respect, you should review this document.
PARTICIPATION
Democracy isn't a spectator sport. Citizenship requires active participation to strengthen our democratic republic.
You can improve your participation skills by doing the following:
Learn how to invite your fellow Americans to an Alliance event.
Encourage a new member to return by making them feel comfortable and supported.
INFORMED CITIZEN
Informed citizens understand multiple perspectives on important issues. By understanding others, you can build trust when listening to and understanding other opinions. In addition, you can gain a fuller view of complex issues.
Thomas Jefferson stated “You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. Citizenship is a tough occupation which obliges the citizen to make his own informed opinion.”
The SouthShore Alliance has many Zoom sessions that will help you become an informed citizen. These Zoom sessions expect you to review and reflect on preparation material for that session.
Information about In-Person Sessions
LOCATIONS
These are the possible locations for meetings:
Firehouse Cultural Center, 101 1st Ave NE, Ruskin
Firehouse Cultural Center Annex, 305 N US Hwy 41, Ruskin. The annex is on the northeast corner of Shell Point Rd. Look for the yellow building.
The details about an in-person meeting will contain the location name but not the address.
Information about Zoom Sessions
The purpose of these sessions is to help you gain a fuller understanding of complex issues. These sessions can be done as independent learning or as a group discussion.
For independent learning, just review the preparation material.
For a group discussion, review the preparation material. Then review and reflect on the discussion questions. To make the discussion more meaningful to you and others, you are encouraged to prepare answers to these questions.
The group discussion will occur in a Zoom session. Two Zoom sessions will be scheduled for each topic. These sessions will be on the 2nd Tuesday of a month and the following Thursday. A recording of the Zoom session will be provided so you could watch later.
If you are interested in a deeper understanding of the topic, you are encouraged to review the articles in Additional References."
If you want to attend a group discussion as an observer but not a speaker, you should change your Zoom name so it as an O in front of your name. This will alert the moderator that you do not want to be called upon.
January 2027 Sessions
Tue Jan 12 Introduction to the Federal Budget
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
Thu Jan 14 Introduction to the Federal Budget
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
February 2027 Sessions
Tue Feb 9 Working Together to Save Social Security
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
Thu Feb 11 Working Together to Save Social Security
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
March 2027 Sessions
Tue Mar 9 What's the America Dream Today?
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
Thu Mar 11 What the American Dream Today?
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
April 2027 Sessions
Tue April 6 Common Ground Workshop - Immigration - Session 1
Information Packet
Location: Manatee Location #1 at 6pm - Registration Link
Location Manatee Location #2 at 7pm - Registration Link
Meet and Greet
Location: Manatee Location #3 at 6pm - Registration Link
Thu April 8 Skills for Disagreeing Better Workshop
Location: Manatee Location #4 at 6pm - Registration Link
Tue April 13 Common Ground Workshop - Immigration - Session 2
Information Packet
Location: Manatee Location #1 at 6pm - Registration Link
Location Manatee Location #2 at 7pm - Registration Link
Tue April 20 Common Ground Workshop - Immigration - Session 3
Information Packet
Location: Manatee Location #1 at 6pm - Registration Link
Location Manatee Location #2 at 7pm - Registration Link
May 2027 Sessions
Tue May 11 James Madison vs Woodrow Wilson
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
Thu May 13 James Madison vs Woodrow Wilson
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
June 2027 Sessions
Thu Dec 14 Meet and Greet
Location: Location to be determined
July 2027 Sessions
Thu July 8 Working Together to Raise Revenue
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
Tue Jul 15 Working Together to Raise Revenue
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
August 2027 Sessions
Tue Aug 10 Working Together to Improve Health Care
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
Thu Aug 12 Working Together to Improve Health Care
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
September 2027 Sessions
Thu Sept 9 Working Together to Save Medicare
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
Tue Sept 14 Working Together to Save Medicare
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
October 2027 Sessions
Tue Oct 12 Working Together to Understand Medicare for All
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
Thu Oct 14 Working Together to Understand Medicare for All
Information Packet
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration Link
November 2027 Sessions
Tue Nov 1 Common Ground Workshop - Health Care - Session 1
Information Packet
Location: Manatee Location #1 at 6pm - Registration Link
Location Manatee Location #2 at 7pm - Registration Link
Tue Nov 8 Common Ground Workshop - Health Care - Session 2
Information Packet
Location: Manatee Location #1 at 6pm - Registration Link
Location Manatee Location #2 at 7pm - Registration Link
Tue Nov 15 Common Ground Workshop - Health Care - Session 3
Information Packet
Location: Manatee Location #1 at 6pm - Registration Link
Location Manatee Location #2 at 7pm - Registration Link
December 2027 Sessions
Thu Dec 14 Meet and Greet
Location: Location to be determined
February 2026 Sessions
Sun Feb 15 Skills for Disagreeing Better Workshop
Location: Firehouse Cultural Center Annex at 2pm
March 2026 Sessions
Sun Mar 15 Current Events Discussion - Focus on Immigration
Location: Firehouse Cultural Center at 2pm
Review this presentation to improve our discussion Immigration 101
April 2026 Sessions
Sun April 19 Concord Coalition Federal Budget Exercise
Location: Firehouse Cultural Center Annex at 2pm
To improve our session, review this material before the meeting
May 2026 Sessions
Sun May 17 Review Listening Skills and Discuss Immigration
Location: Firehouse Cultural Center Annex at 2pm
Review this immigration video Immigration 101
June 2026 Sessions
Tue June 9 Meet and Greet
Location: Zoom at 7 pm
July 2026 Sessions
Tue July 14 Discuss election issues with Craig Latimer, Supervisor of Elections for Hillsborough County
Location: Zoom at 7pm
August 2026 Session
Tue Aug 4 Beyond the Politics of Contempt
Location: Zoom at 7pm
Topic: Building a politics of hope and a national culture of kindness, dignity, respect.
Discussion will be led by Doug Teschner and Beth Malow, Braver Angel Leaders and co-authors of Beyond the Politics of Contempt: Practical Steps to Build Positive Relationships in Divided Times, will be joining us.
This is a link to their website. Beyond the Politics of Contempt
September 2026 Sessions
October 2026 Sessions
November 2026 Sessions
Tue Nov 10 Thoughts on the Election Results
Location: Zoom at 7pm - Registration link
December 2026 Sessions
Tue Dec 8 Meet and Greet
Location: Sunset Grill at 2 pm - Registration Link
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