Bridge Builders

We have more to gain by pulling together
than we do by pulling apart.

Can we really turn angry adversaries into cooperative colleagues? Can we help polarized groups discover enough common ground to resolve their differences where everyone walks away a winner?

We can and we have! We live in an age where competing worldviews battle for the upper hand and because they are derived from people's core values, compromise is often unthinkable. The tension, mistrust and polarization that result shred the fabric of our society and paralyze our institutions.

In the last decade, however, Common Ground Thinking has emerged as a proven tool to help resolve these conflicts without asking people to compromise their deepest convictions. We don't change people's passion about the issues, but by helping them define a new common ground that can encompass the broadest segments of our culture we can help them look for creative solutions that respect their differences. By giving people a new appreciation for the civic principles that under gird the American experiment, they soon learn how to reframe the issues in ways that can lead to mutually beneficial solutions.

We help groups draft COMMON GROUND AGREEMENTS. These agreements are often unanimous because they don't arbitrate between different worldviews, nor seek a lowest common denominator compromise that satisfies no one. Instead they reach for the highest possible consensus and uncover solutions that are fair to the differences in their community. For this reason they endure the test of time and shifts in political or corporate power.

It is an amazing process that surprises many who think that there are no solutions to our cultural and religious differences. We offer training in this conflict resolution process and mediation to help groups apply it effectively. Please take a moment to tour our web site where you will not only find out more about BridgeBuilders but you'll also find valuable resources to help you cultivate the common ground in your corner of the world.

• Current Issues will give you up-to-date information on current worldview conflicts and commentary on how to help resolve them.
• Our Approach will help you understand how Common Ground Thinking is helping communities resolve their differences while building mutual respect across diverse lines.
• We Can Help will tell you about the training, consultation and mediation services we provide to help communities, schools and business reframe their conflicts so that they can find mutually beneficial solutions.
• Resources offers articles by Wayne Jacobsen, information from the First Amendment Center and web links to help you pursue the common good in your community.
• References will let you read what other people are saying about BridgeBuilders and Common Ground Thinking.
• Contact Us gives all of our contact information in case you want to be in touch with us directly.

If you need any additional information or want to find out if Common Ground Thinking can help resolve conflicts you're facing or help you build an environment that will help you avoid polarizing conflicts, please call us for a free consultation. We would be happy to help you find a better way to resolve our differences.

Wayne Jacobsen
President, BRIDGEBUILDERS

Finding Common Ground

It doesn’t take much these days for a tranquil community to explode in conflict when any group of people feels that its rights are being trampled by new policies or other groups pushing their political agenda. Conflicts over issues as diverse as school reform, academic reform, sexual orientation, harassment, holiday celebrations, science curriculum, family-life instruction, library book selection, campus safety and extra-curricular clubs, can quickly divide a community or paralyze a school district’s effectiveness.

But we have good news. Over the past two decades BridgeBuilders has found that there are far more people who will help you build an environment where those differences are treated fairly, than there are those who wish to force their way on others. We can help you tap this valuable resource and find effective solutions that will avoid the strife and litigation that tear communities apart.

We have a proven track record in helping conflicted communities redefine their common ground so they can resolve their differences while rebuilding mutual respect across their deepest differences. A Common Ground environment displays these attributes:

• Governmental authority is not used to indoctrinate or disparage in matters of faith, values or politics.
• Policymakers take responsibility for protecting a higher common good.
• Rather than ask people to participate in a system that is biased against them, the system becomes a forum for community-based solutions.
  Differences in worldviews are respected and treated fairly
• All participants learn to respect each other’s liberty of conscience and realize that they best guard their own rights by protecting the rights of those with whom they disagree.
• All the stakeholders are included in attempts to build consensus or implement reform.

Certainly Common Ground Thinking will not resolve all conflicts, but these time-tested processes have helped many communities resolve cultural disputes that involve conflicts of conscience and differences in faith and values. By helping a community reach a broad-based consensus on new policies we have been able to rebuild mutual respect in the community, even the face of some of our society’s deepest differences.

For further information on this process, please see the following pages:

• Site Overview will help acquaint you with our website and the resources here to help you understand and implement this process.
• Why Common Ground Thinking Works shows how a polarized school district reached a unanimous solution through Common Ground Thinking and appeared in Educational Leadership.
• The Rules of Engagement list the seven principles that underlie the Common Ground environment.

Here is a partial list of agencies that have benefited from services offered by BridgeBuilders in training, consulting and communications:

United States Commission on Civil Rights
First Amendment Center
American Association of School Administrators
National School Boards Association
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
California School Boards Association
California Association of School Administrators
California Department of Education
Pennsylvania School Boards Association
Ohio Public School Administrators
Washington Council of School Attorneys
Christian Educators Association
Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network
The American Assembly at Columbia University
University of La Verne
Learning First Alliance
Educational Leadership
The School Administrator
Religion in Education
Phi Delta Kappa Fastback
Family Health Council
Healthy Schools, Healthy People
Oxnard Police Department
Healthy Kids Resource Center

Numerous county offices of education, local school
districts and government agencies

Let’s Change the Conversation

IN A WORLD WHERE ANGRY VOICES serve their agendas as the only just cause, where they demand their rights at the expense of others, and where our institutions are satisfied with narrow-margin victories that are easily overturned when the winds of power shift, how can a community avoid angry polarization?

According to Pew Research, we are as divided a country has we have been since they started measuring in 1994, and their last tracking came before the incredibly divisive 2016 election and the attempts by Russia to foment our national animosity. Legislators seem content with paralysis, the media feed the vitriol, and lobbyists seek to exploit government power to buy favors for a few. Facing divisive issues often has unforeseen minefields that can throw you into deep conflict or litigation, resulting in court-ordered “solutions” that satisfy no one.

It is time to look beyond politics as usual and discover how to cultivate a new Common Ground allowing people to forge broad-based agreements that address differences and treat them fairly. This is Common Ground Thinking where people rise above self-interest, reassert the common good, and encourage diverse groups to work cooperatively without compromising their deepest convictions.

Since 1992, BridgeBuilders has helped communities stake out the common ground and have had great success in bringing together polarized groups in education, business and society, encouraging them to communicate past their differences, and then design mutually beneficial solutions. This is not everyone agreeing to just "get along," but people participating in the hardest work of a democratic republic—to

We do not attempt to change people's minds on the issues, but to change the conversation from what's best for me, to what is good for us all. By treasuring our civic compact to guard each other's rights and by building mutual respect across our deepest differences, we have seen many communities find those creative solutions that fulfill the American ideal for "a more perfect union". These agreements not only rebuild the fabric of the community itself, but also stand the test of time in the changing winds of our society.

We have found most Americans are sick of politics as usual, and when given the opportunity will seek out a common ground that is fair and compassionate toward their fellow Americans.

See Wayne’s recent appearance at the 2018 TED^x ACU conference, and on the podcast, “A Christian and a Muslim Walk Into Common Ground” on the BridgeBuilder Media Page.