Obstacles

A few days, even hours into Joe Biden’s new administration and opposing forces already raised their heads.

Mitch McConnell wants to delay Trump’s impeachment. Lindsey Graham wants to eliminate the impeachment entirely. McConnell wants to invoke the old filibuster rules. Republican senators are lining up to block Biden’s cabinet choices. House Republicans are forming blocs to impede legislation.

These are only a few signs the old battle lines remain in place.

The hope for peace and unity in Congress may be only a hope. That would be sad if it returns to the raw form of obstructionism modeled by Republicans throughout the entire Obama administration, or in Trump’s administration when Democrats were literally shut down. This form of raw power use is what creates battle lines and kills cooperation. Worse, it kills collaboration.

The future will not be conservative or liberal. It will be centrist. Why? Because that’s how progress is made – we compromise a bit here, a bit there, and we discover a workable solution that maybe doesn’t please everyone, but at least we are moving forward.

Our crises cannot wait. The planet is literally dying. Life will be snuffed out a few generations from now unless we act now. The COVID pandemic will not solve itself; it must be actively managed to lessen its death toll and upheaval of normalcy. We must act together to save all of our lives. This doesn’t take cooperation; it demands collaboration and everyone pulling together for the common good.

Those two crises are examples of why we must work together. Perhaps the methods or solutions will rankle some of us, but we can work through that to get at the hoped for outcomes. That is what cooperation and collaboration produce. Compromise is the grease that builds outcomes. It is not Republican or Democrat. It is not conservative or liberal. It is progress we all need. And soon.

Do not let the ugly American syndrome control our lives yet again. Shrug that temptation aside and get down to work. Actually solving problems common to us all is rewarding.

And lifesaving.

January 25, 2021