Common Ground
Beyond Argument
Let us agree to agree. There must be common ground.
What we know
Babies
Without babies, we vanish. We must be babies.
Women make babies. Men partake. We must be women.
Women make few babies. We must be many women.
Women & babies endure.
Nurture
Without air, we die in minutes.
Without shelter, we die in hours.
Without water, we die in days.
Without food, we die in weeks.
Without nurture, we die of neglect.
Culture
We breathe naturally; air is everywhere.
To get shelter, water, & food, we learn.
Learning varies with time & place.
Culture is knowledge of time & place.
Without culture, we die of ignorance.
Language
We learn by observation, imitation, wonder & experiment.
We learn from stories near & far; present, past & future.
Stories send learning through time & distance.
Without language, we live in isolation.
Knowledge
We know there is more.
We may not want to know.
We need to know.
We wonder how to know.
Without knowledge, we lack meaning.
What we imagine
Stories
We tell stories.
Stories give meaning in words, imagery, song & movement.
Stories combine what we know & imagine: knowledge & belief.
Stories send meaning through time & distance.
Without stories, we lack community.
Community
Community meant place: shared stories, safety & sustenance.
Trade brought other stories. Trade grew.