The Common Ground Network for Life and Choice Manual

other people with the same label, depending on where they place themselves on the continuum.
Using the idea of a continuum is also a way for people to share whatever dilemmas,
struggles, and conflicts they may have about their own view. Within dialogue is a freedom to
acknowledge pockets of uncertainty, or lesser certainty, value conflict, or mixed feelings that are
rarely allowed in the public debate. Selecting a point on a continuum for one’s position allows
for nuances and distinctions in a way that a label alone does not.
Connective Thinking
Connective thinking is a mindset that focuses attention on the strengths and insights of
the other rather than on the weaknesses or flaws. This mindset assists the search for common
ground by encouraging people to listen for the gems of wisdom, or pieces of truth, in what the
other says. The practice of connective thinking can lead to the creation of a “web” of shared
knowledge, woven from the threads of truth contributed by everyone. This web is bigger than
anything known by a single person. Thus, connective thinking fosters the building of
constructive relationships and the development of community because it ties together the best
wisdom of each person.
Personal Experience
People bring their personal experiences with the issue and conflict to the search for
common ground. Each person has experienced life in a unique way. Personal experiences
cannot be argued about nor agreed or disagreed with. They are. Sharing life stories invites
understanding responses from those who hear them. Because of this, dialogue between abortion
opponents begins with asking people to share their personal experiences—the points in their life
journeys that have influenced their movement in one direction or another—that have brought
them to the views they now hold on the issue of abortion. This storytelling puts a human face on
the conflict and allows people to listen to one another in a way that is not possible if the starting
point is an exchange of positions.