Civic Bridgebuilding: Emerging Response to Polarization
According to a Fox News poll conducted in May, 2022, 81% of Americans are extremely or very concerned about political polarization within their country. Citizen Data, an organization that leverages data to “protect and strengthen American democracy”, concludes from an April 2022 survey that Americans rank “political polarization and division” as the second highest threat to American democracy behind only “influence of money in politics”.
People on all sides are tired of polarization and hungry for answers. Yes, many are attracted to the drama of polarization that is stoked by news and social media along with political party antics. But most don’t want it permeating their personal lives and relationships. Data shows that the American public is not nearly as divided as the loud voices on the extremes would have us believe.
Civic Bridgebuilding Models
In response, a growing movement of remedies has emerged. Leaders and organizations at the forefront refer to it as “the bridgebuilding movement” or “civic bridgebuilding”. Many in the general population are completely unaware of this movement.
Civic bridgebuilding, connects people from opposing sides, enabling them to find common ground in their shared humanity. The objective is to reach understanding, not necessarily agreement. Civic bridgebuilding events often involve moderated conversations about controversial subjects. They incorporate ground rules and methods based on the following concepts.
- Getting to know your rival as a person instead of just an opinion-holder or member of an opposing group
- Listening to understand, not to debate
- Solving problems vs. winning arguments
- Assuming good intent
- Finding common ground
- Showing respect and suspending judgement
A typical bridgebuilding event consists of a small group conversation either in person or in a video conference. Participants review and agree on ground rules. They start by introducing themselves to discover similarities and differences. Introductions may include hopes, concerns, and motivations, along with personal characteristics. Then participants are asked to respond to questions about a controversial issue. One person speaks at a time and the others listen. Listeners then reflect what they heard the speaker say to clear up any misperceptions.
There are other types of civic bridgebuilding activities that may involve promoting good will and cohesiveness within a group or team, cooperating on a community service project, developing communication skills, etc. The common themes are listening to understand, respecting differences, and honoring dignity.
Building Civic Bridges Act
Encouragingly, this year, nine Democrats and nine Republicans co-sponsored the Building Civic Bridges Act to reduce polarization and support civic bridgebuilding. The legislation will create a non-partisan program within Americorps to strengthen American democracy by supporting and funding programs that build relationships across lines of difference.
Misconceptions
Unfortunately, several commonly held misconceptions suppress participation in civic bridgebuilding activities. Among them are the following:
- It is a left wing movement to promote the progressive political agenda. In fact, bridgebuilding events do tend to attract older white progressives more than other demographics. But leaders in the field are working hard to promote greater diversity. It is pointless to build bridges within homogeneous groups. Indeed, the crux of the problem is that in current American culture we spend too much time gathering into like-minded groups that serve only to reinforce confirmation bias.
- It is a culture war strategy. This is a typical outgrowth of the “left wing” misconception. Nothing could be farther from the truth. At their core, civic bridgebuilders are non-partisan and unbiased. Their objective is to bring truce to culture wars by teaching us to understand and tolerate differences. All sides have merit. All sides deserve to be heard and respected.
- Its primary target is those at extreme ends of the political spectrum. In reality, those at the extremes tend to see bridges as targets to be destroyed rather than opportunities to achieve unity. They are looking for converts, not common ground. The primary target of civic bridgebuilding is the 80% in the middle that are tired of arguments and stalemates.
Opportunities
Fortunately, the bridgebuilding movement is strong and growing. There is a growing body of research on what works and what doesn’t. I encourage you to investigate the following resources and join the movement. There are answers when we truly listen to understand. For more information, contact: services@dignitydialogues.com.
One response
Great article. Even though Americans want more common ground, it seems we tend to want OUR ground to be the common place. It is the Steven Covey adage, “seek first to understand, then to be understood “ that we need.