What the Bridge Builders and DEI Community Are Missing

As someone who has chosen to work at the intersection of these two fields I often get asked about how these camps differ. I’ll start by saying, I see the work of these two fields as complimentary, as one hand washing the other towards a better world, but both missing a core critical lens: a deep understanding of the human experience.?

The Bridge Builders are folks whose work focuses on the polarization of our society and how we can heal the divides. While there is a lot of rhetoric in this field around common humanity, human connection and common ground, this work (as I’ve seen it) tends to miss the mark by being unable to grapple with both the reality of a common humanity and the deep complexities of the human experience. If we do not grapple with the intricacies of what it means to walk this earth as a woman, as a man, as disabled, as indigenous, as Black, as White, as an immigrant, as queer, as chronically ill, as “pretty,” as “ugly” as poor, as rich, as deeply depressed, etc etc etc., we have not put ourselves in the position to truly access the notion (both in theory and in practice) of a common humanity. Because, how? A common and valid critique of the Bridge Builder camp is simply “why?” Why would I even want to engage in unity or?see eye to eye with those who refuse to see me? With those whose existence seems to invalidate my own? How can I sincerely entertain the idea of a common humanity when my daily experience makes it very clear that when people talk about being human, they’re not talking about me. When people talk about humanity, they’re not talking about mine.

This is a truth the DEI camp knows in no uncertain terms, as the work of DEI focuses on the lack of and thus the fostering of greater Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. However, the Achille’s heel of many DEI efforts seem to be their lack of attention to the reality of a common humanity,? or in other words, their lack of attention to the shared core of the human experience; a deep understanding of the “human condition.” In efforts to even the playing field, the rhetoric in DEI almost requires an “us vs them” lens, which can be (as I’ve seen it) a dangerously slippery slope, as it becomes very difficult to entertain unity or inclusion?with those we see as inherently different from us.? Ironically, the efforts towards building a fairer society, takes root in our inherent differences but rarely ascends this reality. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts do not spontaneously produce unity or human connection. As I see it, living exclusively here is just as dangerous as living exclusively in the “we are all the same'' camp.?

This is why I’ve been more inclined to pitch my tent at the crossroads. I find this position at the intersection most advantageous. It allows for a birds eye view of both the strengths and weaknesses of the work we do as “social change-makers.” At this intersection, one could argue a field in itself emerges that is able to leverage the powers of both camps and simultaneously broadens and deepens our work by starting our discourse with “what does it mean to be deeply human?”

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