Politically I’m suffering. I live in a state where both houses of the legislature and the executive branch are controlled by Republicans. Until the 2018 election the same was true at the national level. The ruling party has operated in a take no prisoners mode, saying my way or the highway.
The problem is that the views of half the country are ignored.
This feeling has galvanized us, made us angry, motivated us to fight back.
Most of us think the only solution is to replace the Republican control with a Democratic (not democratic) one.
Let us suppose a miracle happens and this change actually occurs. What will result?
Will it be our turn to be dictatorial, to pass our legislation and the rest of the nation be damned?
If that’s what’s done, half the country, as now, will feel disenfranchised. It’s just the other half.
And that half will be galvanized, angry, and motivated to fight back.
I want to make clear and have so stated previously in this space, I can think of nothing more important than ridding the country of our current president. Removing the rigid, heartless, and cruel members of Congress making up so much of the opposition would also bring me joy.
However, if my party obtains control, I don’t want it to act like Republicans.
Certainly, I want it to push the priorities that make it appeal to so many.
However, I want it to recognize that it is not omnipotent, that it doesn’t have the answers to all questions, that there are people of good heart with different views.
I want it to be willing to question its beliefs and to search for ways in which giving up some of our goals encourages a like response from the other side.
What’s an example? How about the national budget?
I look at things in a simple-minded way. My family must spend no more money than it has. My parents, who lived through the Depression and conceived me in its midst, instilled in me that simple tenet. I have lived by it all my life and I cannot understand how the same rule doesn’t apply to a nation. My God, I’m sounding like a Republican!
I know a lot of smart people say spending more than we take in is good for the economy. I took an economics class in college. The text was written by Paul Samuelson, a professor there who was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The text said annual deficits were a good thing. I didn’t understand it then and I don’t understand it now. I’ve heard the same mantra repeated by others over the years including quite recently.
However, I think there currently is recognition on both sides of the political spectrum that the debt is getting out of hand. Unfortunately, everyone talks a good game but both sides are willing to spend and spend to get what they want.
Is anybody ready to say enough is enough, let’s pitch in and each side give up some of its agenda so as many important goals are reached as possible within the confines of a balanced budget? Our side may have to delay Medicare for all, free college tuition, and other stated goals. The other side may have to reject its love of tax cuts and its obsession with boundless increases in defense spending.
A few of the many other areas demanding compromise are healthcare, student debt, reasonable regulatory policy, humane but strict regulation of immigration, climate change, and infrastructure.
Please don’t ask if I see hope for any of this because I don’t want to sound negative.
I know many will say the other side will never compromise, a stance difficult to contradict because of recent history. Be honest, though, does the same assertion apply to us?
In a hopeful sign, I do see a willingness on the part of some younger elected officials on the Democratic side to work with their Republican counterparts on some issues.
It’s a start.
The problem is that the views of half the country are ignored.
This feeling has galvanized us, made us angry, motivated us to fight back.
Most of us think the only solution is to replace the Republican control with a Democratic (not democratic) one.
Let us suppose a miracle happens and this change actually occurs. What will result?
Will it be our turn to be dictatorial, to pass our legislation and the rest of the nation be damned?
If that’s what’s done, half the country, as now, will feel disenfranchised. It’s just the other half.
And that half will be galvanized, angry, and motivated to fight back.
I want to make clear and have so stated previously in this space, I can think of nothing more important than ridding the country of our current president. Removing the rigid, heartless, and cruel members of Congress making up so much of the opposition would also bring me joy.
However, if my party obtains control, I don’t want it to act like Republicans.
Certainly, I want it to push the priorities that make it appeal to so many.
However, I want it to recognize that it is not omnipotent, that it doesn’t have the answers to all questions, that there are people of good heart with different views.
I want it to be willing to question its beliefs and to search for ways in which giving up some of our goals encourages a like response from the other side.
What’s an example? How about the national budget?
I look at things in a simple-minded way. My family must spend no more money than it has. My parents, who lived through the Depression and conceived me in its midst, instilled in me that simple tenet. I have lived by it all my life and I cannot understand how the same rule doesn’t apply to a nation. My God, I’m sounding like a Republican!
I know a lot of smart people say spending more than we take in is good for the economy. I took an economics class in college. The text was written by Paul Samuelson, a professor there who was the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. The text said annual deficits were a good thing. I didn’t understand it then and I don’t understand it now. I’ve heard the same mantra repeated by others over the years including quite recently.
However, I think there currently is recognition on both sides of the political spectrum that the debt is getting out of hand. Unfortunately, everyone talks a good game but both sides are willing to spend and spend to get what they want.
Is anybody ready to say enough is enough, let’s pitch in and each side give up some of its agenda so as many important goals are reached as possible within the confines of a balanced budget? Our side may have to delay Medicare for all, free college tuition, and other stated goals. The other side may have to reject its love of tax cuts and its obsession with boundless increases in defense spending.
A few of the many other areas demanding compromise are healthcare, student debt, reasonable regulatory policy, humane but strict regulation of immigration, climate change, and infrastructure.
Please don’t ask if I see hope for any of this because I don’t want to sound negative.
I know many will say the other side will never compromise, a stance difficult to contradict because of recent history. Be honest, though, does the same assertion apply to us?
In a hopeful sign, I do see a willingness on the part of some younger elected officials on the Democratic side to work with their Republican counterparts on some issues.
It’s a start.
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