Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor has offered to mediate a half-century old dispute between several Kentucky farming families and the U.S. government.

The U.S. Army forced the sale of 36,000 acres of Kentucky farmland during WWII for military purposes, and later sold the mining and drilling rights for $30 million after discovering natural oil and mineral reserves beneath.

The dispute has gone unresolved for decades. M. Stephen Pitt, the attorney representing the farmers, says, "I certainly would be optimistic that if anyone can help get the parties together, [Justice O'Connor] will be able to."

Good mediators look for trouble. No dispute is ever as simple as the party would have you believe. The thoughtful mediator understands that the solution of the stated problem generally requires the discovery and treatment of other "hidden" or unexpressed problems. Such problems are encountered at multiple sites in the dispute.

Most people who ask for assistance in solving problems do so because they have not previously been able to solve the problem. This is often so because they do not fully understand the complete extent of the problem. This, in turn, is commonly the result of viewing the problem exclusively from their perspective. This narrowness of vision is typically the result of not actively and empathetically listening to the adversary.