Everyone's Left and Right of Center

Politicians in recent years have drawn a line in the sand and over time they have seemingly strayed farther and farther away to their respective left or right side in an effort to... well... I'm not really sure. The more and more I hear about the stances that many politicians take these days leads me to the conclusion that no one really stands for anything other than opposition to what the other side is saying. At one time I remember that Congressional leaders would work together for the common good (i.e., we... the American public) but it seems that as time has gone on and partisan politics has risen, that no one has anyone else's interest in mind other than their own. I personally find that pretty sad and reprehensible.

Take for example the ongoing efforts at discrediting or finding overwhelming fault with President Obama's Supreme Court Justice nominee Elena Kagan. Everyone in opposition to Obama (cough cough... Republicans) seem to be on a Hellbent crusade to prove her completely unworthy of the post. They would have the general population believe that Kagan is absolutely the worst choice for a Supreme Court nominee and that they are doing their duty as Congressional leaders in rendering the most informed verdict. Nevermind that when former President Bush nominated John Roberts to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court that they took exception and insult when the critics of Roberts wanted to step up and find out more about him. Now it seems they are playing tit-for-tat and are simply looking to block Kagan because they can.

Rather than presenting facts they seem to be more prone to present their understanding of the facts. That wouldn't be so wrong if all politicians (Democrats and Republicans) didn't behave as if they were calling the sky green despite overwhelming fact to the contrary that it is blue. Neither side seems willing to compromise on anything. They are simply trying to prove that they are correct and that the other side is wrong no matter what the point of contention may be. I find it very disappointing. In having read the history of my country and understanding that complete consensus will never accomplish anything good, I'm at a loss to understand how we could have devolved so much to find that we can't even agree to work together on basic issues. Is this our best example of Democracy in action? To criticize what opposition parties are doing? Then is it any wonder that the fledgling democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan are floundering so much if the world's oldest democracy is having problems?

I welcome healthy debate and I welcome a true discussion on the facts but what we see on channels like Fox News which is simply fanning the flames of discord, I wonder whether we can ever truly get back to what our democracy in action truly is. Simply insulting the opposite side and refusing to hear what they have to say accomplishes nothing. We must be setting a good example. The Iraqis and Afghani governments are looking to our nation as examples and if they see that Democrats and Republicans can't get along then can we honestly expect them to accept the notion that they can work with those groups that were previously their allies? Why not just continue the violence? We have an obligation to show how democracy can truly work and not how partisan politics works. I think they already have enough of that and so do we.