History Revisited

I hear a great many people complain that the nation's political system is too polarized. They say that as if Congress existed in a vacuum rather than as a reflection of the electorate. If the middle-of-the-road is hard to find, it's because the right and the left are on completely different highways.

The Conservative Flyer leaves Union Station at 0800 traveling south at 45mph on track 9. The Liberal Express pulls out of the same station 15 minutes later going west at 65mph on track 7. At what time will both trains arrive at the Tropic of Capricorn? The answer is: the same time a consensus is reached on debts and spending.

The truth is Americans have very different ideas about where the country is and where it ought to be going. Those differences are nearing the point of being irreconcilable. It has happened before. The question is, what happens this time?

A peaceful, no-fault divorce is the contemporary thing to do. But, is liberal America open minded enough to "let the erring sisters depart in peace?" I doubt it. If they were they wouldn't think of representing themselves as the 99%. Conservatives are not simply the unconverted. We are the opposition. We are committed to our vision for the country.

Jefferson was speaking of human nature not spouting political theory when he wrote:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Will history repeat itself? Time will tell.