What does it actually mean to find common ground in our nation today? Let’s continue our discussion based on the writings of Walter Isaacson in his book “The Greatest Sentence Ever Written” (2025).
Isaacson’s “Common Ground” and the Greatest Sentence
In his chapter “Common Ground,” Isaacson asserts that the Declaration’s self-evident truths “became the creed that bound a diverse group of pilgrims and immigrants into one nation” (p. 27). As a reminder, these self-evident truths form what he considers the greatest sentence ever written.
Common Ground: Self‑evident Truths that United a Nation
They are:
-All men are created equal.
-They are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
-Among these rights are life, liberty, and property (the pursuit of happiness).
Isaacson says it was on this sentence that our forefathers found common ground. (p. 27) They built cities with common spaces, yet maintained rugged individualism. They had what I would call work/life/national balance.
Could the reason our nation struggles with factions and discord be that we no longer even look for, let alone strive for, common ground? Finding common ground means that we recognize our nation remains only as long as we find some-not all-but some things in common that bind us and make us stronger. That means we are willing to agree on major things that keep our nation intact, and agree to disagree on more personal issues.
Common Ground: Institutional Agreements that Hold Us Together
Examples of some areas necessary for agreement to keep our nation intact:
The Bill of Rights, which protects freedoms such as religion, speech, assembly, press, the right to petition the government for redress of grievances, the right to bear arms, and the right to due process.
the existence of a strong military
a police force to maintain our cities
Civics education that emphasizes the original intent of our founding American documents and their implementation today
The method we use to build our nation economically
keeping the fruits of our labor (low taxes, high growth and productivity)
adherence to morals and values that built our nation
Uncommon Ground: Tolerated Disagreement and Personal Liberty
Here are a few examples of areas where we can exhibit rugged individualism:
the occupation of our choice
How we structure our family life
How and when we contribute to building our communities
How we spend our money
Common Ground: Restoring the Art of Compromise Today
The point I am making is that finding common ground binds our nation together. Isaacson frames it this way. He says that Franklin and Jefferson understood balance as they studied science. “Their goal on contentious issues was not to triumph but to find the right balance, an art that has been lost today.”
Reclaiming the habit of seeking common ground—agreeing on the essentials while tolerating differences—can restore the balance that once bound a diverse people into one nation.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship. 🇺🇸
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