We the People: Bridging the Great Divide

The “Great Divide?”
Taken from the PIPA/Knowledge Networks Poll at: http://www.pipa.org/OnlineReports/mandatepoll/Press01_18_05.pdf
Majorities of both parties polled agreed that on the following stances regarding US Foreign Policy in the second Bush term:
Make preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and the combating international terrorism the top priorities in US foreign policy
Strengthen the United Nations
Contribute US troops to UN peacekeeping missions
Participate in the International Criminal Court
Participate in the Land Mines Treaty
Only go to war with a government that is supporting terrorists if there is an imminent threat to the US or the UN Security Council approves
Use US military force to deal with humanitarian crises, especially to stop genocide
Do not use US military force to replace dictators with democratic governments
Do not use nuclear weapons except in response to a nuclear attack
Do not use torture to gain information in the war on terrorism
In the effort to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program, be willing to sign a non-aggression pact and provide North Korea with more food aid
Do not use military force against North Korea unless the US has approval from the UN, US allies and South Korea
Be even handed when dealing with the Israel-Palestinian conflict
Contribute troops to peacekeeping in Afghanistan
Include minimum labor and environmental standards in trade agreements
Do not have subsidies for large farming businesses, but have them for small farmers

Groups and Organizations Bridging the Gap:

· The BothAnd Radio Initative
A joint initiative of The Mainstream Media Project and The Harvard Global Negotiation Project, the goal of the BothAnd Radio Initiative is to shift the national discourse from blame and partisanship towards creative problem-solving. BothAnd places spokespersons from across the political spectrum on the airwaves and provides training to guest experts, hosts, and others seeking to promote this new genre of public conversation. Instead of assuming either one side or the other is correct, BothAnd maintains that both one side and the other hold parts of the solution www.bothand.org
· Let’s Talk America
Let’s Talk America is a nationwide movement that brings Americans from all points on the political spectrum together in cafes, bookstores, churches and living rooms for lively, open-hearted dialogue to consider questions essential to the future of our democracy. Let’s Talk America is based on the “Conversation Cafes” which was founded in Seattle after 9/11 to create spaces for meaningful conversation about our thoughts, feelings and actions during these times. Let’s Talk America is a meeting ground where we can come together to listen, speak, ask and learn -- without being forced to agree, change or bite our tongues. www.LetsTalkAmerica.org, www.conversationcafe.org,
· Public Conversations Project
Over the past 14 years the Public Conversations Project has helped hundreds of people to engage in constructive conversations across the dividing lines of a range of hotly contested issues, including homosexuality and faith, the environment, abortion, and the Middle East. Participants have been attracted to dialogue for many reasons, including the promise of an alternative to bruising or frustrating exchanges they've experienced; the wish to avoid a costly protracted conflict; the desire to prevent the fracturing of valued coalitions; the wish to deescalate chronic animosity that erupted into a murderous attack. http://www.publicconversations.org
· Search for Common Ground USA
In the course of efforts to transform the way the world deals with conflict over the past 20 years, Search for Common Ground has discovered several underlying principles for dealing with conflict constructively. Finding common ground does not mean settling for the lowest common denominator, but generating the highest - not having two sides meet in the middle, but having them identify something together that they can aspire to and are willing to work towards. Finding common ground and taking a non-adversarial approach to social change leads to the most sustainable and most effective solutions, and brings along the largest sectors of society. http://www.sfcg.org/
· Americans for an Informed Democracy
Americans for Informed Democracy raises global awareness through town hall meetings on America's role in the world on more than 175 U.S. university campuses and in more than 10 countries. The Red, White, and Blue Coming Together is an initiative to unite America behind a common vision for our role in the world. After a bitter election season which focused attention on the divisions between “Red” and “Blue” America, this event series strives to begin the healing process by raising awareness about the hidden consensus that already exists in a number of key foreign policy areas and by facilitating constructive, non-partisan dialogue on more controversial issues. www.aidemocracy.org/