The C Word

Not that one. No one should EVER use that one.

The C Word I'm talking about is the one that used to be employed by well-intentioned people everywhere to signal that in order to get something they wanted, they were willing to give up something in exchange.

How did compromise come to be a dirty word?

George Washington warned against a two party system in his farewell address, but since his cautions were promptly ignored, our congressional representatives in the House and the Senate have been perfecting the art of the give-and-take for over 250 years. In this great nation of ours, it has been the norm that 535 grown men (with perhaps a statistically irrelevant number of women here and there) would discuss, argue, cajole, persuade, and yes, compromise in order to get the job of running the nation done.

No more. The "art of the deal" is dead. The idea that no one gets everything but everyone gets something has been replaced by the notion that no one gets anything they want but everyone gets a little bit of what no one wants.

So we have an omnibus bill, signed sealed and delivered, that increases the national debt, increases military spending, does nothing regarding DACA and does not contribute to building a border wall.

Is there an opposite of zero-sum game?

What happened to one side saying they refuse to contribute to the increase in the national debt, the other side saying fine but we have to raise taxes in order to increase military spending, the first side saying no we're not raising taxes we have to cut some existing programs, the other side saying fine but not entitlement programs designed to aid the low-income families, etc... ?

We need the back and forth, the give and take.

Is either side even listening to one another anymore, or is everyone involved just playing Follow the Leader? Demeaning nicknames, pointless criticism and dismissal of facts all fit neatly into 144 characters. Thoughtful solutions to difficult problems require more than an opposable thumb.

"Grass Roots" seems to be a current buzzword. The idea that things come from the ground up instead of the top down has taken hold in this nation. What if we apply that approach with the intent of reinstating compromise as a welcome tool with which to solve problems?

I imagine moms and dads teaching their kids what it means to compromise at a young age, kindergarten maybe? It's not a difficult concept. It's easily demonstrated. Grade schoolers would comprehend this idea.

So kids grow up understanding and employing compromise as part of their skillset.

These kids grow into young adults, who expand their use of compromise into more complex situations.

And before you know it (ok, a generation from now) we have members of our government at all levels not just solving problems, but talking WITH one another and not just AT each other. Maybe the "us vs. them" is replaced by "we're all in this together."

It's the pollyanna in me. I realize this is far too simplistic a solution to a deeply entrenched and exceedingly convoluted problem. But why not try? Who is going to argue against teaching our children the art of compromise?

We have to start somewhere.