Across the Great Divide

These are not fun times for political junkies like me.  Elections tend to bring out the political passion in many of us.  My husband has remarked that while our candidates make campaign promises as if they will rule like a king – by decree, the reality is they cannot fulfill their promises without the support of many people - on both sides of the political aisle. Our two-party system relies on the art of compromise to bring balance and fairness to the political process.  It's a freedom we fought for once upon a time.

The truth is that when normal people disagree – even strongly -- eventually everyone calms down and the real work begins.  That’s when we roll up our emotional sleeves and get the hard work of compromise and reconciliation done. 

In politics today – we are caught in a never ending cycle of conflict fueled by political ads, egged on by robo-calls and exacerbated in blogs that lack fact checking and forums where anyone with a computer is encouraged to rant anonymously.   The process of shoring up the sharp lines of separation has eroded our ability to see the other side’s point of view.   

Voices need to be heard, opinions matter, viewpoints should be shared – and respected. When commenters on this blog can do so without anyone knowing who they are – it frees the tongue – and encourages the kind of uncivil discourse that is not only unproductive, it’s destructive. Listening, collaborating, compromising -- that is how we get the hard work of being a successful family, business or a country done.   And in the end finding a shared perspective is the key to solving our mutual problems.

Our Congress has been on break since September 21 and isn’t scheduled to resume working until after the election in November.  In the second half of 2012 they have had a total of 12 weeks off. To be clear, they are more than likely campaigning like crazy during these weeks – something few of us would call a ‘vacation’ , but taking twelve weeks off from your job to secure your next job – seems a bit extreme under any circumstances, especially given the sad state of affairs in Washington regarding bills currently awaiting passage.  Clearly, our legislators have a big job to do.  These long breaks give our politicians permission to avoid the meat and potatoes work of their job.  The hard work of compromise and collaboration takes place on the House and Senate floor, not at political fundraisers or on the campaign trail.  Until our elected officials sit down together we can make no progress as a country.   

The elections are almost history but there’s still time to make a difference.  I encourage everyone who believes it’s important to put progress ahead of partisan politics to take action today.  Use the link here:  Find my legislators to discover who your legislators are and how you can reach them.  It will take only a few moments to email them with a short message, “Please, get back to work!”  In addition to exercising our right to vote we have an obligation to also exercise our civic duty to let our elected officials know what we’d like to see them do.  Taking action today will create a chorus of constituents that is singing the same song – urging our legislators to do their jobs, to reach across the great divide and give a little bit.