In a May 1st piece, The Christian Science Monitor Editorial Board wrote on Convergence’s project with Starts with Us on Abortion in the state of Wisconsin and the project’s cross-partisan participants. The article contextualized the project into the national conversation around abortion and levels of heightened polarization sweeping the country stating,
“In December, 14 Wisconsinites representing diverse social and professional backgrounds gathered in a three-day “solution session” hosted by the Washington-based Convergence Center for Policy Resolution. The group of citizens has now published five policy proposals emerging from its conversations…The more interesting outcomes, however, were less concrete. The goal of the project wasn’t for participants to try to move each other from one side of the abortion debate to the other, but rather to find common values through listening…The result was a deeper respect for difference”
The Editorial Board included important quotes from participants highlighting the change they experienced in conversation with people they didn’t envision getting along with and underscored the importance of coming together across differences.