The Common Ground Network for Life and Choice Manual

Appendix 6.1
On-Line Dialogue
Dear Prospective Participant,
You have expressed interest in participating in our e-mail dialogue group. The goal for this group is to engage in
dialogue about the conflict surrounding abortion using the common ground approach. In this e-mail message, we
hope to give you a better understanding of who we are and what the process will look like, as well as provide some
practical information about how our -e-mail dialogue group will work. At the end of this letter you will find some
basic ground rules which are designed to ensure a safe space for dialogue. The letter is rather long, but your
patience and care in reading it will ensure that you reach a full understanding of the nature and expectations of the
group. If you are still interested in participating after reading the letter, send a return message acknowledging the
terms, and be sure to save this letter in your files for future reference
Who are we?
The Network for Life and Choice promotes and assists dialogue and joint action between pro-choice and pro-life
adversaries in the abortion debate. The Network is a project of the independent, non-profit organization Search for
Common Ground, based in Washington, DC and founded in 1982 to find workable solutions to divisive national
and international problems. The Network began in 1993 after Search was challenged by the Buffalo Council of
Churches to apply the approaches it was using in the Middle East, Russia and Eastern Europe to bring opponents on
the abortion issue into constructive conversation in the wake of a polarizing Operation Rescue Campaign. Since the
first pilot effort in Buffalo in 1993, the Network's goal has been to change the dynamic of the conflict by opening
new channels of communication and encouraging the resulting relationships into constructive directions. If you
would like to learn more about the activities of Search for Common Ground, you can do so by accessing our web
page at http://www.searchforcommonground.org.
What is the "Common Ground Approach"?
The common ground approach enables people who disagree to put a human face on their opponents and to search
for the common ground they have with one another. They do not compromise their views, nor do they try to
convince those with differing views to change them. Rather, those who search for common ground try to
understand one another's viewpoints and the reasons that lead each person to hold the convictions they do, and to
identify points of connection and shared concerns.
The common ground approach is a process of breaking down the communication barriers that have been built up
through the course of the conflict. This allows persons on opposing sides to explore areas where the beliefs, values,
and concerns of both sides overlap. Therefore, the common ground approach can be a process by which people on
both sides can work in partnership on problems and issues that are important to them both.
Our approach can be captured in several key points:
• Dialogue vs. Debate: Instead of carrying on a debate, which creates winners and losers and leads to pain and
division, we focus on dialogue leading to greater understanding and trust.
• Continuum: A common ground approach assumes that even in a polarized conflict, people’s views fall on a
continuum. When people identify themselves as “pro-choice” or “pro-life,” they are placing themselves
somewhere on the continuum other than the exact center. The idea of a continuum encourages awareness of
how little we can assume about another person’s set of beliefs, if all we know about them is that they choose
one label over the other.