HOW DO YOU BUILD A BRIDGE?

 

What does the bridge represent?

 

Of the many questions that editor, Carolyn Yoder posed during my revision process with AIM, this was my favorite. It helped me to think about the function that bridges serve. In the case of my story, a swinging bridge led my character, Junior Bledsoe, back into family history. It also provided a safe place suspended between two worlds - a place to ponder, to vent, to hear another person's story, and especially to connect with someone Junior did not like.

A rickety swinging bridge provided a platform on which two enemies could become friends.

Connection - that's what a bridge is all about. Providing a way to navigate between opposing riverbanks. Or viewpoints.

In our current political climate I keep asking myself - how can I build a bridge?  I have friends on the other side. (of one issue or another) How can we connect and find common ground?

I could pick up a brick in the form of an argument or strong opinion and then pile another on top of it. I've done that. It doesn't take long to build a wall.  But I'd rather build a bridge. I keep thinking about how to do that.

How do you find connection with people you disagree with?