Editor’s Note: I have known Dr. Ming Wang for roughly 15 years. I’m very proud to call him a friend. His story is both amazing and inspirational. I have personally witnessed Dr. Wang’s efforts to bring people together to make a positive impact on our world which is greatly needed today. We recently had him on a Zoom conference call regarding Covid-19. Many thanks to Danny Tolleson owner of Turner Security for hosting the event.
I cannot think of a more touching story than giving sight to the blind–Dr. Ming Wang has done that with God’s blessing upon his hands and mind.
A new non-profit organization ‘Common Ground Network’ seeks to build bridges between individuals and communities.
“Our mission is to help people discover what they have in common with others in order to find solutions to the conflicts they face, which in turn enables them to be more successful and fulfilled in their individual lives and cultures. We also seek to network with organizations that have similar goals. We believe there are universally applicable, common ground-seeking methodologies that can be extracted from the experiences of those we call “Common Ground Champions” – people who have successfully applied these methods of identifying what they have in common.”
The initiative hopes to achieve success in myriad ways, and outlines its purpose in a series of statements:
At Common Ground Network, we stand on the shoulders of giants who have gone before us, and who have inspired us to further the cause by developing a generally applicable system for everyone seeking to find what we all have in common.
“The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally – not a 20 percent traitor.”
~ Ronald Reagan
WHY WE EXIST: To help people find common ground, resolve gridlocks and discover solutions so that the quality of their lives is improved, they are more successful, and they feel more fulfilled.
WHAT WE DO: We research the methodologies of the champions to formulate a new Common Ground-Seeking System.
HOW WE DO IT: We teach people this system and help them apply it in order to discover the common ground necessary to work together to solve the problems they face.
Dr. Wang demonstrated the importance of the issue for conservatives and Republicans because of the lack of connection with minorities. He showed that the Democrat to Republican connection rate with minorities is 8 to 2 for Latino Americans, 9 to 1 for African Americans and 7 to 3 for Asian Americans.
With the U.S. population consisting of 44 percent minorities – 20 percent Latino Americans, 18 percent African Americans and 6 percent Asian Americans – Wang warned that in 15 years the three groups will become the majority.
Common ground, as Wang defines it, is existing similarities plus newly discovered common ground. The Common Ground Seeking System (CGSS) consists of three phases: foundation, pearls and process.
The foundation phase consists of making a connection or relationship, having an appropriate attitude, and the proper motivation.
Pearls are the wisdom and best practices gleaned from other common ground seeking proponents distilled to their universally applied principles.
One such pearl Wang discussed was S.A.L.T. – Start the conversation, ask questions, listen and then talk. That pearl rolled into another called “The Gift of 5 Minutes,” referring to the amount of time of the other person speaking without interrupting or raising an objection.
The process includes step-by-step instructions about how to use CGSS to find common ground.
One of the co-founders of the initiative is renowned Nashville laser eye surgeon Dr Ming Wang. Dr. Wang is a world-class cataract and LASIK eye surgeon, philanthropist, and community activist. He is the founding director of the internationally known Wang Vision Institute, Nashville, TN, USA. “Over the decades I have dedicated myself to the cause of helping people find common ground, by having founded organizations such as the Tennessee Immigrant and Minority Business Group and Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration. Now, I have co-founded another 501c(3) non-profit, the Common Ground Network, which teaches a unique and powerful Common Ground-Seeking System, to help people find common ground and hence solutions to problems so they can be more successful and fulfilled!”
