In search of the united states

 Published

2016/01/07 

There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution. ---John Adams Letter to Jonathan Jackson, October 1780.

Adams' fears have been realized. Our two party system, a system mentioned nowhere in the U.S. Constitution, has served to poison compromise and cooperation throughout our history but has reached it's zenith, or should I say nadir, now. Parties invite and nurture absolutism and the evidence of its evil is seen in our dysfunction.

Here's a thought experiment: Imagine you're stranded on an island with a total stranger. You'd have to figure out how to build a shelter from the elements, build a fire, find food, make an area for waste and figure out a signaling system for planes and ships. What are the odds that you'd disagree with every suggestion the stranger made? What are the odds that he or she would object to every single suggestion you offered? Judging by how well local communities come together after terrorist attacks and natural disasters, the odds are high that you would be able to cooperate with the stranger on the island to keep both of you alive and signal help.

Put Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Nancy Pelosi and President Obama on an island and they'd starve to death.

Hyperpartisanship has robbed people of logic, reason, grace and their humanity. This week on "Fox and Friends" Donald Trump commented on President Obama crying while announcing new gun regulations. Trump quipped, "I think he was sincere. I'll probably go down five points in the polls for saying that."

If only fellow Republicans and conservatives could emulate Trump's humanity. Wait, did I really just say that? Conservative bloggers, bloviators and haters like John McCain's daughter Meghan dismissed the President's tears as insincere. Simpleminded ideologues on social media gleefully mocked the president online, probably from the anonymous sanctuary of their mother's basements across America.

How morally bankrupt does one have to be to question whether or not someone's tears over 6-year-olds being shredded by gunfire are genuine? Several conservative bloggers think the president faked the tears. It makes me shudder to think of the kind of person who can't believe someone would cry over dead children.

When I think partisanship can sink no lower, miscreants are there to prove me wrong.

In today's hyper-partisan U.S., one isn't allowed to even display their humanity. All motives must be questioned. It's stunning that it's Donald Trump that says he believes the president is well-intentioned but he disagrees with the remedy. That's perfectly okay. That's the adult response I'd expect from the opposition.

Here we are in another presidential campaign season and it's sure to grow nastier by the month. Once again. friends and family members will be at odds and sometimes at each other's throats literally. There are always news reports of political disagreements leading to violence. On social media, people will lob political barbs back and forth and regurgitate things they saw on a partisan news channel and/or website. Many will claim they hate political posts, but what they really mean is they hate political posts they disagree with.

Watch.

The unfriending and blocking will become a sport in the fall of 2016.

We've factionalized the nation into two sides that see everything the other side does as wrong. How can everything the other side believes be wrong? And why are so many people willing to accept their side's position on issue after issue? What percentage of voters have studied climate change? What do they know about immigration and deportation? What do they know about sequestration? How many understand what's in the Iran nuclear agreement? How many voters can tell you what the difference is between Sunni and Shia Islam? How many can find Syria on a map? What's the difference between President Obama on ISIS, Hillary Clinton's position, and any of the Republican candidates'?

I'll wait while you google. That's what I thought.

There's a reason why an organization like No Labels exists. It's a 501(c)4 social welfare advocacy group made up of conservatives, liberals, moderates, Republicans, Democrats and independents trying to get our government to compromise and solve our problems. It recognizes that it's the labels that divides us before there's even a chance at problem solving. No Labels says “just because you disagree about Issue A doesn't mean you can't agree about Issue B.” That seems so obvious on the surface but right now, that's exactly what it means in partisan America. Thinking for oneself is frowned upon in party politics. It's stunning to me how people adjust their views to mirror their parties. And one of those adjustments is believing the absolute worst about the other side.

And if the other side is a horrible, dim-witted, reactionary interest group hell-bent on ruining America and aren't real Americans anyway, then why would anyone want to cooperate and govern with them?

It's laughable that America worries about ISIS. Can ISIS shut our government down? Can ISIS default on our debt and crash the world economy? Can ISIS run a corrupt banking scheme with collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps and tank our economy? Did ISIS make our president and Congress hang a sword of Damocles over our defense department in the form of sequestration? And how many Americans have ISIS killed vs. how many Americans have Americans killed?

There isn't constructive compromise. There isn't even constructive criticism between the factions. There's scapegoating, finger-pointing, exaggerations, invective and flat-out lies. And this hyper-partisanship doesn't serve the nation. It serves the parties. It serves the status quo. It supports a huge industry of think tanks, radio and television news shapers. It lines the pockets of the well to do and leaves two individuals, who have more in common than they think, wrestling each other distracted from the corporate overlords who really run the country.

This week my granddaughter joined the United States Army and I'm so proud of her. She's been working hard to ready herself for the challenges ahead. I know she will give her all to do her job well and stand shoulder to shoulder with others to defend this nation.

We owe it to her and all of the others to build a country worth defending.