Yes it is leaning towards the right wing hegemony that matches
the House of Representatives and the Senate. The problem is, left and right
ideologues forget a primary principle: the middle is a merge of both right and
left. They are composites of one another.
I’m a centrist. I believe that government has a purpose for
being. I think the Constitution lays that out pretty well. I also think that
ideas from both the left and the right make sense in determining not only which
laws ought to be written, but how they also should be interpreted.
Try as we might no one can write a law that applies to a
highly complex, diverse people fairly over all contexts and needs. It cannot be
done. Instead all sides are considered to find a workable agreement that can be
enacted and enforced. Implemented. Used and guided by. Did I say workable?
If a hard position is taken in an argument, one that has no
wiggle room at all, then the law is clear until it is implemented. Think of this law: Thou shall not kill. I
know, this comes from the Bible, but all societies throughout all of history
have enacted a law that deals with this same thing. But think of it – the law
says you cannot kill another human being. So, let’s say you do. What is society
to do? Will they imprison you for the rest of your life? Or will they execute
you? Will they torture you with hard labor at the end of a whip?
Execute? Did I say execute? Let’s see, that would mean
society has the right to kill a breaker of the law about killing another. How
can killing of one person be the reason for taking the life of the law breaker?
You see the dilemma here, right? If we outlaw murder then we have to outlaw
execution, too. Wiggle room needed?
330 million of us; think of it. So many differences
attempting to be treated as one. Not possible. Also unthinkable, one religion.
Not possible. So…
We accommodate differences. We accept them among us and deal
with the issues they raise. Wiggle room. Life is not one thing but many. So too
are the expectations, behaviors, mindsets, religions, political interpretations
and everything else.
We do accommodate each other not because we are polite and
civil, but it is in fact the only way to make things work. We all give a little
and gain a lot. It is how the world works. That is until someone tries to
‘simplify’ things and force us to be what we are not.
We are not the same, you and I. We are quite similar but
very much different from one another. It is this plentiful range of
possibilities and diversity that enriches us and complicates us. Political
power, governance authority, all of this, has to accommodate huge differences
among us. That is reality, the way life is.
Conservatives feel government is a bad thing and needs to be
limited.
Liberals feel government is a necessity and is useful to get
a lot of things done that alone we cannot accomplish.
Middle of the Roaders accept the workable ideas from both
the left and the right to make things workable. Work needs to get done. Someone
has to do it. Authority to do it has to be available. A range of actions are
needed to accommodate the differences among us.
Thus is born the centrists. They are the people who populate
the institutions of our nation and make them work – the courts, police departments,
libraries, colleges and universities, economic development centers, land use
and building permit departments, fire departments, public schools, hospitals,
vast numbers of charities, churches – all these institutions do the work of the
people because the work is important. They get it done because not doing so
means human suffering.
Think about this for a few hours. Let it all sink in. The
people on the Right focus on principles and restrictions and clarity. The
people on the Left focus on getting the right things accomplished for the good
of the people. It is not about power but good they focus on. Right and Wrong
are convenient points to think about, but they are hell to implement. Too many
variables to consider.
So something in between the two end zones is needed to allow
movement, accomplishment. Progress.
So, we witness the two end zones fighting each other for
control of the argument. All the while the work of the nation is getting done
by the other good folks.
The Supreme Court has been in the control of the Republicans
for the past 60 years or more. Rarely has it been controlled by the Democrats.
That’s a political fact. And yet we have this powerful skirmish for power
between the Republicans and everyone else – to name a 9th justice of
the Supreme Court so the ‘balance’ of power is maintained by Republicans.
Why?
There is a vacancy to fill and the current sitting President
has the authority and the duty to nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy. And
he will do so. When that happens, the Senate has the duty and authority to
consider the candidate and fill the vacancy as expeditiously as possible. There
are other justices who will die or leave their position due to health in the
coming few years. Age is what it is and will do what it does. Filling vacancies
will fall to the then sitting President. For now, Scalia is gone.
Let us get back to business and allow the workings of
government to proceed. Tilt or counter-tilt. Whatever; get on with it.
Ideologues! You can’t live with ‘em, and you can’t live
without ‘em. Although I’d like to try!
February 17, 2016
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