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Readers Respond: 6 views on Common Ground, Common Good

On Sept. 9, the Monitor launched a new Commentary feature: "Common Ground, Common Good." Our aim, as explained in our introductory letter to readers, is to "offer ways to soften many of the polarizing debates over issues that sharply divide people." Guest writers "might define a radical middle where solutions can be forged or simply methods to improve – or even start – a dialogue" on everything from foreign conflicts to neighborhood disputes. 

The inaugural column was from former US Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, who urged Americans to "mobilize for moderation." Reader responded with praise and gratitude for her message – and the idea of the new feature, generally. Some had insights or experiences of their own to share. We've collected some of their remarks here.

1. Compromise isn't a dirty word

Evan Vucc/AP
Sen. Ted Cruz (R) of Texas is pursued by reporters upon his return to Capitol Hill after a meeting between President Obama and Senate Republicans at the White House Oct. 11. The meeting focused on the government shutdown and debt ceiling.

Common Ground, Common Good is a wonderful commentary series. As a nation we desperately need to stop haranguing each other and return to compromise. Compromise is not surrender and not a dirty word. It is the best way to try to make all parties as satisfied as possible.

Jim Blaine

San Leandro, California

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

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