THE AMERICAN MUSLIM: HOW GLOBAL CITIZENS CAN “DO UNTO OTHERS”

Susan Koscis of Search for Common Ground discusses President Barak Obama’s Cairo Speech and the importance of acting as global citizens.

Washington DC – My mother, who immigrated to America from Poland, often told me to follow the Golden Rule, to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

This fundamental principle, which transcends nations, peoples and time, was echoed in US President Barack Obama’s speech at Cairo University last Thursday.

While his words focused on improving US-Muslim relations, it was also about the fundamental values that speak to who we, as global citizens, want to be in the world.

Obama noted that “the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart”, and added that “there must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another and to seek common ground.”

The principles of seeking common ground are the foundation upon which the conflict resolution field was founded. In this approach, individuals, groups or nations seek solutions to problems based on shared values and mutual interests.

Having spent the past 12 years working in an international conflict prevention and resolution organisation, I have seen first-hand illustrations of these principles in action. It was unthinkable, for instance, that Hutus and Tutsis could live together peacefully after the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, yet 15 years later and after the implementation of peace-building programmes, this is the remarkable reality.

And these methods are applicable not only amongst people, but also between industries and governments. For example, health industry leaders, politicians and civil society leaders in the United States are finally working together today to achieve long needed healthcare reform, after decades spent fighting each other.

In Cairo, the president assured us that the potential for common ground does exist, not only between the United States and the Muslim world, but between all of us who share this planet.

“The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart, or whether we commit ourselves to an effort – a sustained effort – to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children, and to respect the dignity of all human beings.”

Proactively seeking common ground is needed if we are to address many of the challenges the world faces today, from global climate change to the Middle East conflict, from nuclear non-proliferation to the abortion debate in the United States.

In our world today there is much to fear. There is mistrust between nations, groups and between individuals. People are sceptical by nature and do not believe that systems and people can change. Many reviewers of Obama’s speech have called it naïve. Perhaps they are right, but what is the alternative to believing that humanity can transcend itself to assure our mutual survival?

Change begins with thoughts and words. Words and dialogue lead to understanding. Mutual understanding leads to action. And it is by our actions that we are able to transform our world.

Obama called his speech a beginning. Indeed, it is a noble beginning, one in which “treating others as we wish to be treated” becomes more than an individual lesson that a parent imparts to a child; it becomes a way of transforming the world.

* Susan Koscis is director of communications at Search for Common Ground in Washington, DC. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

See full article at The American Muslim.

HUFFINGTON POST: PRO-LIFE AND PRO-CHOICE CAN WORK TOGETHER

Mary Jacksteit, former co-director of Search for Common Ground’s initiative The Network for Life and Choice, discusses her work on that project in the Huffington Post.  She echoes President Obama’s Notre Dame Commencement Speech by recognizing that pro-life and pro-choice advocates can, indeed, voice their differences positions without demonizing their opponents and can work together on their shared positions, including the prevention of unintended pregnancies.

Motivated by the same speech, RH Reality Check, a website committed to promoting and advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, launched On Common Ground, a section of the website designed to provide readers with articles and posts relating to the search for, and success in finding, common ground on abortion.  In introducing this new section, Rachel Laser mentions Search for Common Ground as a leader when highlighting the 4 necessary steps toward achieving long-lasting common ground.

Finally, Richard Land contributes to the pro-life/pro-choice dialogue by criticizing the demonization of opposing positions and encouraging adherence to the rule of law to ensure civility and reason among highly polarized parties.

These are welcome first steps toward fostering novel connections and partnerships among polarized advocates.

SEARCH FOR COMMON GROUND PARTICIPATES IN 2009 WORLD DAY AGAINST CHILD LABOUR ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

On June 10, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis commemorated the 2009 World Day Against Child Labor by hosting a roundtable discussion with Senator Tom Harkin and White House Council on Women and Girls Executive Director, Tina Tchen.  Institutional Learning Director, Nick Oatley, of Search for Common Ground participated in the event at the Department of Labor in Washington, DC.

The roundtable was conceived as a medium to exchange ideas among representatives from U.S. companies, unions, employer groups, nongovernmental and international organizations, and academia.  The primary discussion concerned the challenges of and opportunities to transition children, particularly girls, from exploitative labor environments and into educational and training alternatives.

Oatley emphasized the critical contribution that children and youth make in causing social change, and he noted SFCG’s history of providing journalism training for young adults, fostering unique opportunities for both children and youth to voice their concerns, learn about their rights and mobilize for transformation through radio programmes created for and by young adults in West Africa and in the Great Lakes region in Africa.

Go to the Department of Labor website for a Press Release and webcast of the event.

TIMES OF INDIA: INDIA GETS ITS FIRST WOMAN SPEAKER – MEIRA KUMAR

Bridging both gender and caste divides, India’s parliament unanimously elected its first female speaker, Meira Kumar, who is also a member of the low-caste Dalit, or “untouchable” community.  Kumar will join Mayawati, the current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, in the ranks of prominent female Dalit politicians.  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh commended her fellow female MP by hailing the event as an “historic occasion” in Indian politics.  Kumar’s election contributes to a richer political environment and encourages greater participation of both women and members of the Dalit caste in Indian politics.

Read full article here.  More on Meira Kumar

Question to the Blogosphere:  Do you think that being from the Dalit community played a significant role in her election?   What does this mean for women and for the caste system in India?

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: PEACEFUL ABORTION DIALOGUE SHAKY BUT REAL

Below is an opinion article by Susan Koscis from the June 8, 2009 online edition of The Christian Science Monitor.  Susan is the Communications Director at Search for Common Ground.

Washington – Searching for common ground on abortion isn’t new. What is new is that the president of the United States is talking about it and calling for it. That kind of support has the potential to help change the tone of the entire debate.

Fourteen years ago a group of abortion rights activists and antiabortionists participated in the first national meeting of the Network For Life And Choice. The Network – active between 1993 and 2000 – endeavored to transform the dynamic of the abortion debate in the US by establishing a platform where the opposing sides could listen to each other’s positions and beliefs, and look for overlapping values, goals, beliefs, and interests.

I was a dialogue facilitator at the national meeting in 1995. The weekend began with high tension and anxiety. Neither group was comfortable and it seemed that no one was at ease being there. Yet people came perhaps because they realized there was an opportunity before them.

The network had developed a highly structured dialogue process that kept abortion rights and antiabortion participants engaged in a series of increasingly difficult and emotional questions. It began with simple “getting to know you” questions that were designed to build trust slowly, and then progressed to deeper levels of dialogue that went to the core of why people believed and felt as they did.

It worked.

Over the weekend, distrust and resentment begin to melt. I heard people tell each other that they had never understood the “other” side until then.

At the end of one session, I saw a well-known antiabortion advocate emotionally embrace a physician from rural Alaska, who had just told about her experiences as the only ob-gyn doctor for miles around. On occasion her practice was called upon to provide abortion services. She tearfully explained that she endured threats to her life and to the lives of her husband and children. Her young daughters were picked on and called names at school.

No matter which side of the debate people were on, everyone in that room seemed to know that the hateful behavior that typified interaction between the two sides was wrong, and that they had to find better ways to deal with their differences. In that moment, the positions that people brought to the weekend shifted slightly toward each other.

The abortion advocates learned that they needed to engage with the “other” side, and that both sides needed to recognize each other’s humanity.

It took courage to show up, to expose deeply held beliefs, and to speak openly with people with whom one strongly disagrees. Through this process, the participants gained tools to transform a shouting match into a productive space for dialogue.

The dialogue led antiabortion and abortion activists to identify and approve a series of concrete and mutually satisfactory recommendations:

1. Reduce and prevent teen pregnancy;

2. Make adoption more accessible and available as an option;

3. Increase child-care options for women who choose to give birth;

4. Reduce the conditions that lead to a high abortion rate (for example, balance between work and family);

5. Combine forces on legislative proposals, such as assistance for drug-addicted women, sex education in schools, and welfare reform to minimize hardships on working mothers.

The network existed for several years but never realized its goal of transforming the national debate on this issue. This is primarily because of a lack of resources. Funders were interested in supporting one side of the debate or other. And certainly timing played a part. The American public was not in a place to move beyond the polar extremes on this issue and there was no president to call for civil discourse.

The idea of the network was ahead of its time. With President Obama raising the issue of finding common ground on abortion and with lessons from the network experience in place, its time has arrived.

In his recent speech at Notre Dame University, Mr. Obama said that both sides of the abortion debate must engage in a dialogue with “open hearts.”

“Maybe we won’t agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions,” he said. Keeping his audience in mind as well as those poised to pounce on every nuance, the president embraced an inclusive approach and counseled, “When we open our hearts and our minds to those who may not think like we do or believe what we do – that’s when we discover at least the possibility of common ground.”

Just days ago, a Kansas doctor who performed abortions was murdered. It may seem that things have not changed since the Network for Life and Choice ceased their work. But now, we have a president who understands that no matter how deeply we may disagree on deeply felt issues, we can come closer to understanding one another and recognizing what we share. It is only by standing on common ground that we can begin to resolve the issue.

Susan Koscis is a director at Search for Common Ground, a nonprofit organization specializing in global conflict resolution, which sponsored the Network for Life and Choice. 

See article here.

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Obama calls for end to discord with Muslim world

In a 55-minute address at Cairo University, President Barack Obama called for “a new beginning” between the United States and the Muslim world. While critics hoping for specific policy changes were disappointed, President Obama’s tone of engagement and promise was still seen as a departure from the posture of the George W. Bush presidency. In his address, Obama declared that “America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. This cycle of suspicion and discord must end.”

Read the Full Article at LAtimes.com

Learn about Search for Common Ground’s U.S.-Muslim Engagement Project