Exploring contentious public policies issues in a rancor-free atmosphere is the goal of a newly formed, non-profit group called The Common Ground Committee. The Committee’s first event will feature a group of well-known panelists offering contrasting perspectives on the key question “What is The Government’s Role in the Nation’s Economy?” The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at Greenwich Library’s Cole Auditorium.
Former Connecticut Congressman Christopher Shays, now co-chair of the federal Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, has agreed to join the panel. So has Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal editorial page and member of its editorial board. He is also an economic commentator for CNBC-TV where he appears regularly on the Kudlow Report. The panel moderator will be John Yemma, editor of The Christian Science Monitor, a publication devoted to balanced, in-depth reporting of global events. Other panelists will be added in the coming weeks.
Other panelists offering different perspectives will be added in the coming weeks.
The non-partisan Common Ground Committee was established to stimulate informed opinion on critical issues without engaging in provocative expression or highly-charged discourse. “Too often,” said Committee President Bruce Bond, “discussions on matters that affect the lives of all Americans take place in a vitriolic style that seeks to score points rather than enlighten the public. We hope to counter this trend by presenting a series of discussions on a variety of topics aimed at presenting the ‘light’ of truth rather than the ‘heat’ of anger. It is our intent that this light might stimulate progress toward finding the common ground on which citizens can make informed decisions and take intelligent action.”
The forum is being held in cooperation with the Greenwich chapter of The League of Women Voters (www.lwvg.org), a non-partisan organization whose mission is to encourage the active participation of citizens in government. The League empowers American citizens to have a voice in government, to bring about constructive change and build grassroots citizen action.
The format for the Oct. 25 event calls for an hour-long discussion followed by a half-hour question-and-answer with input from the audience. There is no charge for admission to the 368-seat auditorium. The Committee anticipates holding future events on important topics and welcomes donations for this and future events at its Web site www.commongroundcommittee.com.
The Committee President is Bruce Bond of New Canaan, a group vice-president at Stamford-based Gartner, Inc. Other members of the to-be-expanded board are Martin Skala of Darien, Judy Kudlow of Redding and Erik Olsen of Wilton.
