Shared fears
The most common refrain I hear these days is something akin to: “They are destroying the country that I know and love; we have to stop them!” This is said with equal fervor by people on the right and left.
Thus, the vast majority of Americans share a fear of losing something essential to their identity as Americans. The two sides assign blame differently, but the underlying concern is the same.
What if people came together and talked about their shared fear, even if it looks quite different on the surface? I suspect that deeper conversations would reveal a surprising number of commonalities and shared values.
The cold, hard truth is that we cannot bridge the divide and heal our polarized communities until we first find common ground and build trust. The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) was introduced to the intercultural field many decades ago by Janet and Milton Bennett, and today it is still a cornerstone of the field because of its proven validity.
The DMIS reveals that there is a specific path for bridging differences. When we are polarized, the next step is to find commonalities. Once we see where we have commonalities, we can move towards understanding our differences. We cannot leap from polarization to understanding our differences. We cannot skip a step.
The task before us, then, is to first find commonalities and build trust. While that may seem unachievable, or repellant, or both, it is the path we must take.
For more information on how intercultural practices provide a valuable framework for bridging differences, drop me a line and let’s start a conversation.
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Copyright © 2020 Sharon V. Kristjanson. All rights reserved.