Conciliation

History tells us that one of the singularly critical attributes leading to the demise of the former Soviet Union, was the single minded and unswerving allegiance by  the country’s elite-the decision makers-to the Communist Party.

Every decision, every plan and every idea was weighed against the potential value to the Party. Not the country, the Party.

An inflexible and unforgiving adherence to the intricate principles of the Communist Party, in the end, debased the dignity of the Soviet citizens and afforded an atmosphere of terror and insecurity.

Today, and in the months to come, we will hear over and over again, how the parties which comprise the American political system, each offer a better alternative than their opposition.

Today, Congress is sharply and rigorously divided along party lines, neither seemingly interested in giving an inch in compromise to the opposition. Make no mistake, history has proven that compromise is the lubricant of a democracy, and the open minds of  bygone statesmen used compromise to sculpt a more viable and healthy government—a government which sought to serve the citizens.

 

As the political fires flare, and we move towards another Presidential election, we need to pause and contemplate one simple fact—the further we move away from recognizing and honoring the value of compromise, the closer we creep towards the abyss into which the former Soviet Union plummeted.

 Perhaps the scariest part of all this rests in the fact that there is no road sign identifying the point of no return.

You say it can’t happen here? September 11, banks too big to fail, and the free-fall of the American economy offer all the proof necessary.