It is difficult to have an open dialogue when we are wrapped up in a controversial issue. But even when we don’t agree on the issue, by agreeing to a few basic principles we can come together on common ground for a meaningful dialogue.

Our Common Ground
Ten Principles for an Open Dialogue

Agreement is not a prerequisite for respect.

We each walk our own path to come to common ground.

We are all at once both broken & brilliant.

Compassion for our brokenness brings us to common ground.
Passion for our brilliance brings us to higher ground.

Every single person matters.

No one of us can see the entire picture. It is only by our collective perspectives that we can begin to see and understand.

I cannot change you.

I can only inform and influence. For that to happen there must be an open door.

I don’t win by defeating you.

No one becomes more from someone else becoming less. We are in this together.

Do not speak from anger, speak from what makes you angry.

In your words and actions reflect who you are and respect who they are.

There is no contradiction in facts.

If contradiction exists it is in our understanding of the facts.

Selective facts are not facts.

A fact is a thread woven into the overall story of our world. To pull out a single thread only weakens the fabric.

The end goal is not to find an answer, it is to deepen understanding.

When together we gain a deeper understanding of the issue at hand then each can make better choices for the good of all.

On the path forward sometimes I will lead, sometimes I will follow, always I will serve.

It is service that keeps us together. If we have not come to a place where we can serve each other, then we must ask a different question and begin again.

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