Compromise

Anyone who's read my blog for more than just a couple of days knows I'm a student of current events and politics.  The subject fascinates me.  I read A LOT, and I read material from many sources and from all political persuasions.  I don't simply regurgitate whatever one news source or another tells me is "the truth".  Too many of us do, and I think it has caused us to become lazy thinkers.  Rephrase:  "non-thinkers".


Some people seem to want to watch / listen / read ONLY those things that reaffirm what they already believe.  No opposing views allowed.  "My way or the highway."  I'm sorry, but to me that is the height of ignorance.  (Yes, you can be "educated" and still be "ignorant".)  I believe that a good idea can come from anywhere.  Democrats should listen to Republicans and vice versa.  Americans should listen to Canadians and French and Australians, etc and vice versa.  We all need to shut our mouths once in a while and just listen.  Then we can pick the best of everything, regardless of where it comes from, and become better for it.


I have recently been challenged to "pick sides", and told that "middle of the road is too wishy-washy".  In this context my challenger means "stand your ground and don't compromise".  Let's put this challenge in the context of American history:


My challenger and I are both proud Americans, no doubt.  We believe we have an exceptional form of government, cobbled together for us by an incredibly wise group of patriots.  "Our Founding Father's" is always spoken in a whispered, reverent tone.  What if our Founding Father's had been told to "pick sides" and that "middle of the road is too wishy-washy"?  Here's what the history books say of that period:  


The US Constitution has been called a "bundle of compromise" due to the fact that the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 had to compromise on numerous key points in order to create a new Constitution that was acceptable to each state.


One example....The Virginia Plan called for representation based on the population of each state, while the New Jersey Plan wanted equal representation for each state.  The two sides combined both with the Connecticut Compromise, more famously known as "The Great Compromise".


If there hadn't been a room full of "middle of the road wishy-washy" men willing to compromise we wouldn't have a Constitution today.  (At least not the one we do now.)  Our wise "Founding Father's" would instead be thought of today as just a bunch of stubborn old coots. 


And let's be honest...."pick sides / middle of the road is too wishy-washy" is anathema to "compromise".  Pragmatists compromise when necessary while ideologues stand their ground regardless.  It was pragmatists who founded this country and got things done.  God bless 'em.


Happy July 4th everyone!  :)


S