May 1, 1997

Question Bridge

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There are many confusing and painful divisions in our culture and it seems harder than ever to find ways to communicate across boundaries of race, class and other apparently uncrossable barriers.

Question Bridge is a concept I’ve developed that’s designed to see if there might be creative approaches to addressing these problems.

The idea is that if you feel safe enough to ask a deeply held question you are saying in effect “This is something I do not know about you, please help me understand”. If the question is meaningful you are much more likely to listen respectfully to a sincere attempt to answer. Questions and answers of this kind can become a bridge to transformative social reform.

Every Question Bridge begins with the creation of a “Zone of No Consequences” that makes it possible for those involved to ask difficult questions without fear of reprisal. The nature of each Zone depends on the participant’s concerns.

Below are links to two Question Bridges I set up that use the internet to allow for questions and answers between students from vastly different economic and social backgrounds. First click on the student’s introductions to see how they describe who they are to each other. Then click on the questions to read the strings of answers and responses.

Follow the discussions:

Question Bridge I, May 1997
Question Bridge II, November 1997

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

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