February 25, 2019, Part One: Observations. Last week's session of a critical analysis of the Criminal Justice System, law enforcement, the court system, defense attorneys, prosecution and parole challenged my way of thinking, my capacity to lead, as well as my ability to empathize. During the small group portion of the exercise, when we we're asked to discuss what were some of the things that the district attorney's office does well, doesn't do well and how could they improve, I observed that two of our group members had little interest in participating and there were communication issues with two of our other members. I observed that one of our small group members was visibly agitated and that appeared to explain that members lack of participation. Based on prior statements in class, I assumed that this group members agitation was due to contrary feelings concerning the direction of our discussion. The discussion, I believe organically had a liberal slant due to the fact that the conversation was steered by only two people. Due to the many different dynamics within our group, there were extreme communication issues. This lack of communication and participation was evident within our presentation. And while I attempted to present what was recorded my efforts were futile and the presentation lacked the professionalism that I would normally demand from myself. I did notice that many of the groups worked well together and produced interesting presentations. There was one common theme coming from all of the presenters. And that was that the criminal justice system needs to be and needs to do better. I observed that students with a more conservative outlook concerning criminal justice, normally keep those views to themselves. I am unsure of the exact cause, but I believe that those views would be unpopular and consequently challenged in this type of setting. It takes a large amount of self-assuredness to knowingly place your ideology at odds with the ideology of your classmates. As we continue this session and journey together, I hope that we grow comfortable enough to be our authentic self and that those of us with an alternative viewpoint support each other despite our ideological differences (Tomorrow Part two Analysis and Integration. and part three Reactions...) Thanks for reading and taking time to support me in this journey to get home.