Working together
Perhaps I was just not as observant when I was younger, but I really do feel like our elected officials used to be more skilled in the art of compromise. I remember being mesmerized when C-SPAN first came out and I could actually know what was going on. The debate was sometimes nothing more than grandstanding, but to see the arguments change the details of bills was incredibly impactful to me. Clearly, I’m a nerd.
One thing is clear to me, as time progresses: The US is on a collision course with further civil unrest, or even a civil war, if we don’t find a way to make our government effective again and restore confidence. We cannot exist on a tit-for-tat, retaliation-type legislature. There is no honor and no respect in the idea that, “when they were in power, they refused to listen to us, so now that we’re in power, we’re not going to listen to them.” There is no beginning and no end, it is just becoming a perpetuation of anger and blame. How is it remotely possible that our elected officials not only take pride in, but campaign on, the idea that they refused to compromise? That is LITERALLY how government works: propose, debate, compromise, resolve. The fact that our elected officials no longer believe that compromise is necessary, is why our elections are swinging so unpredictably. The left can’t seem to compromise and get anything done, so the next vote gives power to the right. They undo everything the left did, refuse to compromise, and get nothing done, so the next vote gives power back to the left. It’s a hideous cycle that is only becoming more and more entrenched with each election cycle. And the further entrenched it becomes, the more polarized the public becomes, as everything becomes a blame-game. We can’t continue on this trajectory.
Currently, I see the left crying out for Trump to be hanged for his ‘crimes’ after he leaves office. I’m going to say...and I’m not a Trump-supporter...that this is a mistake. The election margins were way too thin, meaning that a huge number of Americans did/do support him. Being vindictive once in power is only going to perpetuate the cycle without actually accomplishing anything. The left has been protesting for months. If the right is pushed heavily into the streets, the two sides will inevitably end up in violent conflict. And for what? To prove a point? To “show” the other side who has the power? Refusing to confirm judge or cabinet members before they are even named, based completely on who is in power, is not only a dereliction of duty, but would be grounds for termination in a ‘real’ job. And unfortunately, our reality-tv based mentality seems to love the circus without a shred of concern for the damage being done to the process.
I am sad that American policies and politics have sunk to this level. And I can’t help but to wonder how much lower they can sink before the entire system is undermined by a lack of confidence in the process and the only outcome is revolution.