Enjoying those you disagree with
Greatness befriends its enemy.
Common Ground USA has two purposes, and one of them is NOT conforming to any ideology or assuaging our passions. It is NOT about ending disagreement. Rather, IT IS about increasing our capacity for disagreement. IT IS about enjoying said diversity. IT IS about how the root of progress is found within conversation planted in the common ground of our vast similarities.
We mustn’t confuse the two forms of unity; conformity & diversity. One is simple, one is complex. One is easy, the other vast. One demands bravery the other is mastered in slumber. We each get to pick. It is up to us.
Finding this common ground is worth the work. Whatever it takes.
Our society simply pays lip service to tolerance. It is up to us to go beyond the shallow pursuit of mere tolerance towards a higher maturity that befriends our perceived opposition. Rather than being singularly focused, might we take in the breadth of agreement?
Maturity is the ability to bring others along with us. Only in increased maturity might we possess the grace and wisdom to meet people uniquely where they are. It is this ever-deepening maturity that I seek.
No one can force us to be the change in the world we want to see. It is up to us.
A vast majority of our news stations, politicians, celebrities, universities, etc. have never and will likely never lead us in this noble direction.
I have many friends with whom I disagree on many topics, I could not enjoy them more. It is my wish to be better at it, expand it, and encourage others of its importance.
Common ground is about creating an environment that gives your ideas the best chance to be adopted by the widest and most diverse set of people, all while providing the broadest avenue in which to experience how our own ideas need honing or changing.
Unity because of Division
Remember, there is no more thorough destruction of your enemy than to make them a friend.
The Best Things in Life are Free
The one who most starkly changes the world isn't Elon Musk or Steve Jobs; it is the one who lives their daily life cognisant of the weight they carry in every word and intention. It is one who treats every encounter as if it were a divine intervention of love for whosoever they are interacting with.
The war against our Unity
The leaders of western nations have never been more unified. But why? Some allegiances are brought about due to a common goal, some by a common enemy. They have both. Their goal is more power and control; their enemy is you, the common man.
Thank you for disagreeing
If there is only agreement then everything stays the same. It is by and through how we see things differently that we are able to suss out a better way of doing things.
People are not your enemy
Many have misunderstood how to fight against an idea. They naively look to banning ideas or information not understanding that this is a deep and core attack against the person and not the set of ideas.
Call Your Friends Fools
When in our relational ineptitude we fear the other to the point of excluding them from our lives the next step is always the slippery slope of dehumanization.
Restorative Anger
Righteous anger is a lesson in restoration. It is not what it has long been misrepresented as; rightful destruction.
The Responsibility of Power
We must find where our beliefs have the support from a majority of society, it’s systems and their structures. These are our beliefs that are most susceptible to rot. For it is the light of scrutiny that disinfects. The intensity of the fire that tries to burn your idea down also acts as purifying fire. Wherever our core tenants ride with ease it is up to us to purposefully subject them to rigor.
Heart Check
If you are wondering what side of history you are on, here is a litmus test that stands the test of time.
Humanize your Enemy
The enemy camp is full of those that you would enjoy and celebrate with if better wisdom and maturity were applied.
The Great Tension
Outside of this, we will certainly belittle the horrors of the past 100 years, not in the shaming of their great revulsion, but in the comparative smallness of their destruction.
We have more in common than we think.
I am calling for us to, and it is high time that we, the thinking people of the earth, support one another. It is for us to no longer be a tool of their suppression. It is for us to no longer be a muzzle towards other freethinkers..