Actor Richard Dreyfuss Hosts Bi-Coastal Event to Initiate 'It's Time for a Talk'

A partnership of organizations, led by American activist and Academy Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss, is hosting live simultaneous events on the East and West coasts to open a National Conversation in cyberspace regarding America's civics crisis on Monday, January 17, 2011. Entitled, "It's Time for a Talk; The National Conversation on Revitalizing America's Civic Culture", the discussion will address the unprecedented anxiety felt by U.S. citizens regarding the nation's future accompanied by the lack of comprehension surrounding the cultural meaning and heritage of America. The East coast event will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C. from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The West coast event will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the University of San Diego. Panelists will include Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Romer, John Fund, Diane Ravitch, Richard Shenkman, and Admiral Bruce Boland. The public is encouraged to participate by attending the events in person or logging onto www.timeforatalk.org; observers may watch the real-time simulcast covered by C-SPAN.

The two-way discussion open to public participation via Internet will pose the question: "Are you comfortable, confident and at ease, or uncomfortable and uneasy, when you think of the future of the Nation in 30 years?" The organizations that are participating as of this printing are: The American Bar Association, the National PTA, AARP, The Dreyfuss Initiative, The Grauer School, San Diego Rotary and Vote iQ, with endorsements from the National Association of Secondary School Principles, The Girl Scouts of America, and others.

"We believe that remaining ignorant of the ethical values that permeate our Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights is ultimately catastrophic for the America that we were born into," explains Dreyfuss. "As a nation, we've become so complacent to the disconnect where no one is willing to take responsibility, that our children and grandchildren won't know how to cope with problems we leave behind for them to sort out. This global discussion provides a forum for citizens to weigh in on the subject so that we may create a collective solution."
To learn more about TDI or reserve complimentary tickets to attend the events, visit www.thedreyfussinitiative.org or call (212) 222-2916. The Dreyfuss Initiative (TDI) works as a non-partisan, non-profit entity whose mission and vision is a nationwide effort to revive an enhanced study of the prepartisan tools of civic expertise necessary to comprehend and maintain U.S. democracy. TDI encourages participation from all groups throughout the country and welcomes tax deductible charitable contributions to advance its mission.