Chapter 56 Polarization & Control

Having friends that lean politically both to the right I find it interesting that both groups tend to enjoy discussing the “opposition”. One comment that I often hear from both positions is “I know they have some very intelligent folks in their group, so why are they so dense on………..”

I find that this sort of political discussion tends to dominate our morning coffee group which, politically, leans dominantly to the right. I also belong to a few left leaning community action groups where I have had similar experiences.

In my opinion, the animus between these groups has increased significantly over the past few decades. My theory is that our elected leaders encourage this polarization to their benefit. If they can keep the electorate fighting among themselves on relatively minor issues they are free to ignore the critical issues facing our country. The sad fact is that they do not have viable solutions to our major challenges (or at least are not willing to face the consequences of suggesting certain actions).

Our most daunting issue is the budget deficit and the national debt. Related to this is the country’s “unfunded liability” which is approaching $101 Trillion! The most significant contributor to this problem is the cost of health care. Several of my early posts have described in detail this issue and workable solutions. However, the solutions will not be in the financial best interests of several special interest groups; insurance and drug companies included. Regardless of your political leaning, as a tax payer, you should be concerned that our cost of health care per person is almost 3x that of several European countries that are providing a higher level of care.

My point is that there many issues on which both sides of the political discussion can find agreement and many of these are significant items. In my opinion, we need to resist the temptation to fight among ourselves. We need to take back the power from the D.C gang and solve our problems. We need to force them to leave by the rules that they make and this may take an amendment to our Constitution. The imaginary amendment 28 was not a bad idea of how we, the people, could take back some power.

My plea is for us to band together as patriots with a goal to improve our nation for future generations. If we continue down the current path of derision I sincerely fear for my grandchildren and their progeny.