What is the common ground for dialogue? What topic allows for an open discussion of other topics? Learn the benefits of aligning shared values. Come and see how it can be done. Our sacred ground contains the guiding principles of our worldview. People protect these beliefs because they identify with them. The more strongly you believe in something, the more sensitive you are to people challenging your sacred ground. People who follow a religion have certain tenets of belief that are non-negotiable. So, discussing any ideas that do not align with their sacred ground can undermine constructive dialogue over sensitive issues. In order to discuss these concepts, you must be invited to walk on their sacred ground, which means finding common shared values on which to build trust. So, what is the common ground on which trust can be built when people come from vastly different worldviews? Religions program their believers to reject all ideas that are different from their core beliefs. How, then, can we get believers to look at their sacred ground from another point of view without triggering their fight, flight or freeze response? The Meaning of Shared Values in Society We each have a hierarchy of values shaped by our culture. Many societies promote honesty, integrity, and courage as core values. Freedom, equity, equality, and inclusion are positive cultural values. A group can use any values to build commonality. The meaning behind values can be either positive or harmful. For example, unity is a shared value that promotes teamwork and cooperation. The Third Reich used the shared value of unity to disguise its true intent of racial discrimination. People in the Third Reich were devoted to the unifying principle of nationalism, which prevented them from distinguishing between favoritism and the scapegoating of marginalized groups. The use of common values to drive behavior that we saw in the Third Reich is mirrored again today in right-wing conservative values both in Britain and the United States. Why can't the people involved in these ideologies see the harmful intent of this thinking? The answer is that they are subject to brainwashing and propaganda that erases their ability to use common sense and logic. Common Sense and Logic Everyone thinks they have made the right decision when establishing their beliefs. People who follow one of the 10,000-plus religions substantiate their beliefs in some way that makes sense to them.
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