What's so bad about compromise?

The political climate in America is anti-compromise.  Democratic voters are angry with President Obama for a series of compromises he has made with Republicans, starting with Healthcare (dropped the public option), followed by taxes (breaks for the wealthy), and culminating with the federal budget.  Historically, Republicans in Congress have never been big on compromise, and voters are warning politicians not to give in now either.  The result is a political stalemate on pretty much every major issue.

Political Parties in the US - from the Wikimedia Commons

It’s hard to recall a vote on significant legislation that wasn’t along strict party lines in either chamber of Congress (refer to voting records here and here).  Congress was intentionally set up with rules that make it exceedingly difficult to pass (or in some cases even vote on) legislation that doesn’t have the support of a super majority.  However, America is pretty evenly divided between the parties which makes super majorities almost impossible to achieve.  Thus Congress ends up being dysfunctional, no matter what party controls it.

Americans love to blame Washington politics for this dysfunction.  But I believe the blame actually rests with Americans themselves.  Recent polls on the budget debate show that 1 in 3 Americans would rather have the government shut down than compromise on their principles.  Within the Republican party, the number jumps to 1 in 2.  President Obama has seen a steady drop in his marks for leadership as he continues to compromise on major issues.  A large number of Americans want their elected officials to stand firm on their principles and avoid compromise.  When elected officials listen, the result is a vote along strict party lines for a biased piece of legislation (at best) or a complete legislative impasse (at worst).

Ironically, most leadership surveys (such as the one linked above) use words like “strong” and “decisive” when asking the polling questions.  A leader who is willing to compromise is seen as weak and indecisive (a.k.a. flip flopper).  The leadership surveys themselves need to be fixed.  Strong and decisive leadership is critical on the battlefield, but in politics it translates into “stubborn” and "narrowminded”.  Leadership of a large and diverse country is not about stubbornly sticking to your personal idea of what is best.  It’s about listening to everyone, weighing everyone’s point of view, weighing outside factors that people aren't even aware of, and arriving at a compromise that does what is best for everyone as a whole.  This type of leadership is not only lacking in Washington, it is actively discouraged.  We can’t blame “politics as usual” for our problems when we are the ones creating the politics in the first place.

Why you shouldn't have a strong opinion

I thought it would be fitting to inaugurate an opinion site with an article on why you shouldn't have much of an opinion.  It will probably generate some strong opinions.

In short, you dont know what you're talking about.  You are wrong.  Whether it be politics, taxes, healthcare, foreign policy, global warming or American Idol, you are not even close to being an expert, and your opinion is wrong.  For what it's worth, so is mine, so is everyone else's.  A couple examples can be found in these articles (1 and 2), but there are many many more.

This is not meant to insult or anger people, quite the opposite in fact.  Once you open your mind to the possibility that you may be wrong, all of a sudden, life's problems don't seem so bad.  Democrats, It's OK if the Republicans get their latest bill passed through Congress, they might be right.  Republicans, consider the possibility that President Obama doesn't hate America and is actually trying to do what is best for the country.  There is no sense in getting too upset if you understand that the other side is not evil, and could be right.  Politicians have full time aides with years of experience and knowledge of the topics guiding their decisions.  The President has a Cabinet of advisors who are experts in their respective fields. They know more than you do, Period.  Of course, in all likelihood, both sides of a particular topic are wrong, and the "truth," whatever that really means, is somewhere in the middle.  This article on the budget deficit illustrates my point.

I dont think "light" opinions are a bad thing.  People should be informed on what's happening in the world, and they should say what they think about it.  But open your mind to the other side of things, and maybe even allow yourself to be convinced by a well reasoned opposing argument.  The world will be a better place for it.

So the next time some scientist talking global warming gets you angry, or some government regulation regarding healthcare keeps you up at night, take comfort from the fact that science and healthcare are complicated things, people spend many many years studying them, there is no simple right or wrong, and you dont know what you're talking about.