Kendall group wants to bring together diverse political views, without a fight

Michael Rosenberg is about to try something almost revolutionary in today’s political climate: a public meeting where people with opposing views actually talk to each other like human beings.
Can it even be done?
Rosenberg, a longtime animal rights activist and president of the Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations, is launching what he hopes will be a community conversation that doesn’t immediately devolve into shouting matches or Facebook flame wars. He’s inviting people of all stripes to sit down and discuss the issues that usually blow up Thanksgiving dinners: immigration, abortion, healthcare, vaccines, gun rights, even the meaning of “socialism.”
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The goal? Civil engagement. “I want to see if we can encourage people to share their opinions without fear of repercussions or a fear of having an opposing viewpoint,” Rosenberg told Political Cortadito.
It’s an ambitious experiment. After all, this is Miami-Dade — where just about everyone has a strong opinion on politics, and most aren’t shy about telling you. But Rosenberg says the point isn’t to agree. It’s to listen.
The KFHA has hosted political forums for decades. But these have been with candidates. They have provided the questions. This forum is different because the invitees are the residents. Candidates and electeds are welcome to join, however.
“We’ve all read the news, heard the news, watched the news — and the conclusion is that it is impossible to have a civil, polite, courteous, well-mannered meeting with groups of people that have opposing political ideas,” Rosenberg said. “The ‘rumor’ is that Democrats, Independents, Libertarians and Republicans simply cannot be in the same room together without some sort of histrionics, hysteria, screaming, arguments and a meeting that would end with total chaos.
“Let’s prove them wrong.”
The leaders of various political parties have been invited. The FIU College Democrats’ President Alexandria Gopee, the FIU College Republicans’ President Daniella Dieppa, the Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chair Laura Kelley and the Libertarian Party Chair Hector Roos have confirmed attendance. Also going: the chairperson of the FIU Libertarian Party, Joshua Espinoza, and former State Rep. JC Planas, who has lots of experience with constitutional issues.
The KFHA was trying to get someone from the Republican Party of Miami-Dade County to attend — but nobody had confirmed early this week. They might feel it’s not echo chamber enough.
If there was ever a perfect time to try this kind of community conversation, it’s right now.
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We’ve got a perfect storm brewing with the assassination of Charlie Kirk — causing people on both sides of the aisle to question what “free speech” is — a crackdown on dissent on college campuses, media networks and city halls, where people are being shouted down, canceled, or arrested for daring to speak up. And hovering over all of it is the raw, emotional debate over Gaza, where even neighbors and families are splitting apart over what’s happening half a world away.
Everywhere you look, the national discourse is toxic. People aren’t just disagreeing — they’re dehumanizing each other.
That’s why Rosenberg’s little experiment feels so timely. It’s not about solving immigration or abortion in one night. It’s about proving that, at least at the community level, people can sit in a room together, talk about the toughest issues, and walk out without hating each other.
In an America where speech feels more weaponized than free, and where every issue becomes a purity test, carving out space for civil disagreement might be the most radical thing you can do.
To set the tone, Rosenberg will start the meeting by reading a letter from his “wonderful, amazing MAGA friend” in Northeast Georgia. The two don’t see eye-to-eye on pretty much anything — he’s a Trump Republican, Rosenberg’s a liberal Democrat — but they have genuine love and respect for each other.
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“Mike and I can discuss controversial issues and to people listening to our conversation, it can sound sometimes very heated,” wrote James Calhoun, descendant of John Caldwell Calhoun, a senator from South Carolina and seventh vice president of the United States. “But at the end of the day we can go have dinner or ice cream together. We both know we intensely love our country. There’s no doubt about that.”
And if they can manage that partisan divide, Rosenberg believes, maybe neighbors here can, too.
The big question: can it really happen without a fight? How heated is too heated? Can a room full of Miamians, armed with opinions on the Second Amendment, Social Security, and birthright citizenship, actually prove that we’re capable of civil discourse?
Rosenberg is betting yes. It’s a risky bet. Around here, it doesn’t take much for “civil discourse” to turn into a cage match with cafecito flying across the room. But hey, if Rosenberg can pull this off, it’ll be a bigger miracle than bipartisan immigration reform.
The “In One Room Together” town hall sponsored by the KFHA begins at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Kendall Village Center Civic Pavilion, 8625 SW 124 Ave. Come for the discourse and the free pizza because Mike’s Italian Restaurant is providing food.
The post Kendall group wants to bring together diverse political views, without a fight appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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