This is the time we need true compromise, but not the variety of compromise wherein nobody gets quite what they want. This only breeds contempt and merely “buys time” while perceived injustice continues, putting off conflict for another day. What we need is the sort of lasting compromise wherein everybody gets exactly what they want. To be fair, there may be some issues on which no such compromise is possible, but far too often when such compromises are presented, they are rejected because those in power cannot afford to lose the issues of division they use in their campaign platforms.

Classifying people into liberal, conservative, and moderate camps is difficult for a number of reasons. Today I wish to introduce a concept I call “ideality levels.” I suspect that I will link to this post often in the future.

Sorry, readers. I have been busy again. My employer has me working overtime and I've had lots of errands. I haven't had much time to keep up on the news or write.

It did occur to me the other day that I should probably answer the partisan claims made about the recent government shutdown. Democrats blame the Republicans, claiming they ask too much and have pursued a radical agenda that has little to do with cutting costs or balancing the budget, cutting essential services while maintaining questionable ones. Some have even gone as far as to imply that Republicans want to kill women and old people. Republicans blame the Democrats, countering that their budget proposal only returns spending to 2008 levels (after the dems had control of the congress for 2 years), nothing radical like 1789 levels. They claim that the Democrats failed to pass a budget last year when there was a Republican minority, probably just so that they could make an issue out of this now to blame Republicans for. They claim that at current levels, the various government programs in question will run out of money soon and that all they are doing is SAVING the programs by making some sensible spending cuts and improvements in efficiency.

Who's right? Well, logic alone dictates that since the shutdown only occured because an agreement could not be reached, and if either side got exactly what they wanted there would have been no shutdown, neither side can be held exclusively responsible. Republicans failed to agree to Democrat demands for reasons similar to why Democrats failed to agree to Republican demands. Everybody wishes there was a greater willingness to compromise, but both sides feel that their own side has already compromised more than enough.

It seems to me that our time would be better spent seeking solutions than playing the blame game.

Every once in a while I have an idea for a compromise on some issue or another that as far as I know should give each side what they want. Sometimes I know power politics gets in the way of enacting these compromises, but other times I don’t even see the idea discussed. I don’t know why they don’t catch on. Here is another example of a potential compromise.

Every once in a while I have an idea for a compromise on some issue or another that as far as I know should give each side what they want. Sometimes I know power politics gets in the way of enacting these compromises, but other times I don’t even see the idea discussed. I don’t know why they don’t catch on. Here is another example of a potential compromise.