When I come across a study or essay that I think merits discussion, I throw its citation into a list I keep. Often, years or months go by before I use it as a basis for a post, if I ever do, but I revisit the list on occasion, and as I was scrolling through those “keeper citations” the other day, I came across an argument from 2020 that brought me up short–a New York Times article about compromise.
The compromise in question was between religious liberty and gay rights, in the wake a Supreme Court decision confirming that anti-discrimination legislation protected members of the LGBTQ+ community. (And yes, the “usual subjects” dissented.)
That column ran a mere six years ago, but in that time span, America has changed in ways that have almost totally undermined its premise.
In the “before” world–before MAGA and Trump– political compromise was possible because partisans largely inhabited the same reality, and often were trying to reach a common goal, albeit by different means. Most (not all, certainly, but most) political arguments revolved around questions of means, the “how” to achieve a goal. Did we want to ensure a fair marketplace? How much regulation is needed and how much is too much, overkill that will end up distorting trade? What are the pros and cons of proposed efforts to combat poverty? How much should the federal government be involved in public education? In these and multiple other issues, the goals were similar–a fair market economy, the need to feed poor children, a desire to improve education.
Granted, partisans came to those goals with very different ideas about what fair trade looked like, about the efficacy and drawbacks of social programs, about what education for democratic citizenship should include and where responsibility for the nation’s schools should be lodged. And we’ve always had grifters and hypocrites within our body politic, although until recently they didn’t represent the majority of federal government officials.
We no longer occupy that political world, which–messy and imperfect as it was–was occupied by lawmakers and bureaucrats most of whom were trying to achieve what they believed to be the common good.
In those not-so-long ago days, lawmakers could usually find a middle ground between liberal and conservative approaches to the nation’s problems. It wasn’t easy, and often the results didn’t please either camp, but legislation resulted.
There’s a reason today’s Congress has been so unproductive, a reason America’s government simply isn’t working. We no longer have principled conservatives in the GOP. They have been replaced with grifters looting the treasury, ironically supported by Christian nationalist cult members intent upon imposing their fundamentalist fantasies on the rest of the population, that silly Constitution be damned. Political contests no longer occur between well-intentioned lawmakers who come to the issues with different beliefs about how to fix real problems–they have morphed into struggles for power and dominance.
The linked essay proposed a middle ground–a constitutional middle ground– between citizens whose religious beliefs condemn gay folks and those (like yours truly) who believe government must treat all citizens equally while allowing people to hold and express contrary views. I will admit that I disagree with the particular compromise supported by the author of that essay. I do believe in the need for finding common–or at least middle–ground between partisans, if a democracy is to survive, but I have concluded that it is no longer possible, or even desirable.
That’s because, in the six years since the linked essay was published, American politics has devolved. Dramatically. Lawmakers are no longer wrestling with policies–they are competing for unconstrained control. There is no middle ground between authoritarianism and self-rule, no middle ground between corporatism/crony capitalism and a fair marketplace. There is no middle ground between official racism and equal citizenship, between due process and a Gestapo intent upon expelling people from the country on the basis of their skin color.
What is the middle ground between blatant corruption and ethical behavior?
There’s a reason the linked essay–only six years old–now reads as quaint. The choice Americans face today is between active resistance and a “compromise” that is really compliance.
As I had mentioned before, the backlash against religious extremists is going to be jaw-dropping. As it is now, religion is breaking the law, constitutionally they are not supposed to be involved in politics! And yet, religion is flooding into politics. That’s going to be a major point of conflict in the near future. When it happens, it’s going to be gob stopping, and there’s going to be a lot of emotional damage to those who are pushing their religious beliefs into politics.
I mean, so-called Christians are pushing their Christian beliefs, above and beyond other religious beliefs or religions themselves. That denotes a state sponsored religion or church, something that is diametrically opposed constitutionally to that very thing!
Confiscation of churches and their financing? I can see that happening. If not shortly, the ball will start rolling soon. And then the other shoe is going to drop. At least that’s what I see.
If you look at the religious people who surround Trump, they are all prosperity preachers. Trump’s religion czar is a criminal. Religion is being used to fix the majority who lack/reject Godliness.
There is no doubt that Trump is running a criminal enterprise. Even his Christian Wing of the White House are criminals. There is not a single department being run properly. If the department served the majority of the people, cut their programs because they don’t serve us. Getting rid of the Inspector Generals should have been a clue.
What surprises me a little bit is how many of the billionaire oligarchs have funded and bargained with the Devil. As for confiscation, let’s look at these billionaires. California wants it done, but the Democratic governor is afraid his donors will move to another state, so he is fighting it. #MakeANote
Todd, Peter Thiel has moved himself and his family to Argentina. He is still an American citizen. Avoiding taxes on his vast billions seems to be his temporary solution while he waits for dump to leave office one way or another. His vassal, Vance, would then be in place to help keep his wealth and its power firmly in place.
The compromises necessary for civil governance are long gone here in Indiana. The godly and greedy have full control of all levels of civic offices, from local agencies, law enforcement, education, natural resources, the judiciary and the General Assembly. Both of our Senators are lackeys, as is the Governor.
The Lt. Governor is a self-described hater, attacking the citizens whose religion he finds objectionable. Frankly, his brand of religion, one he would impose on us all, does nothing but foster hate in return. Imaging any compromise with any of his strongly held beliefs makes my skin crawl as it is pure evil, especially for women.
Finding a middle ground assumes that all parties are willing to negotiate boundaries, find points of agreement and acknowledge common benefits while seeking the common good. When that process means only one party benefits, it makes a mockery of a mutually agreeable solution, the very definition of the word compromise. Resentment, anger, despair result. Revolutions are built on those emotional responses to lack of compromise followed by forced compliance. Are we headed there? Maybe.
RESIST.
Our initial concern regarding “Compromise” must be addressed within both parties. The Republicans who have surrendered to the MAGAs have lost sight of the origins of the GOP which was once the viable Republican party. The MAGAs are no longer fully supporting the Trump administration they set in place.
The lack of “Compromise” within the Democratic party ended the 50 year productive career of President Joe Biden and couldn’t even find common ground to support Vice President Kamala Harris and thus, handed the presidency to Trump who, as evidence in the media now shows, has lost MAGAs full position of surrender to Trump and all that implies.
Prior to his presidency, Barack Obama published the meaning and the importance of compromise in his book “The Audacity of Hope”. That hope was that both parties could come to the bargaining table and work together to find solutions to national problems. During his post-presidency he publicly warned the Democratic party NOT to become a “circular firing squad” which has been ignored, resulting in loss of hope and an almost total lack of unity putting the supporters of both parties are in the position of inability to compromise. To paraphrase the original Republican President Abraham Lincoln, “A House (or a nation) divided against itself cannot stand.”
“What is the middle ground between blatant corruption and ethical behavior?”
I find it an anomaly that to save our future we must look to our past to President Abraham Lincoln (White) and President Barack Obama (Black) for answers and solutions to return to compromise and unity to save this nation from Authoritarianism, Dictatorship, Fascism or whatever other name you want to apply to this current destruction of democracy, Rule of Law and loss of the Constitution of the United States of America.
Unfortunately, for too many Americans compromise has been replaced by complacency…. “Oh, just switch the channel and get me another beer.”
Hi John, I’ve not noticed you here for some time. I do not know that that backlash will be sooo extreme, but there has to be a backlash, or we become a theocracy.
Mr. “Art of the Deal” knows nothing of compromise, does not have the slightest sense of proper dealing never did. What he’s done is to make the gov’t, and too much of the culture, into a projection, or mirror, of his sick mind, so there is no chance of a compromise.
He’s little other than a gansta, leading a mob of smaller gangstas.
VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT… BECAUSE IT JUST MIGHT!
those tele adavang. sneering at the others. making sure jimmy keeps his jet,s tax free.hypocrits who bless the devil himself for self (taxless)preservation. maga religion pushing the American people to decide,who gets what. forceful disruption of our democracy to install a christian like sharia laws. theres little money in the working class pockets, and now we are driven to accept when you dont recognize what is happening. obviously the money is from the power players who demand submission by the modern day peasents. many recent discussions, shareholder meetings, online tit for tats atest to a deliberate disregard to the working class needs to live a above water existence. the members of congress are not out of touch, they know exactly how to use tech and religious bullshit to get what the rich want. total submission by everyone. russian democracy anyone?
common dreams.org
biggest wealth divide in modern history.
Brad Reed, 5/23/26
see graph
Compromise! Who needs compromise? Welcome to Minority Rule, with your host, John Roberts! This is the game in which we take a couple of phrases from Article 2 and use them to negate any idea of checks and balances. The winner gets Orange Jesus (OJ) as President for life!
OJ understands power. The fact is, that’s the only thing he understands. His Executive Order to the US Postal Service to refuse to deliver mail-in ballots for people not on the “National list of registered voters”, has been upheld by a federal judge. The rationale for the Constitution’s Article 1, Section 8, Clause 7 was that information that needed to be widely circulated could be delivered to every household. (I’m not naive, so I know that the person who needed it most was Ben Franklin, creator of “Poor Richard’s Almanac” and later “Saturday Evening Post” and third class (cheap) mail for printed materials. Just to show that double dealing isn’t a new invention, he was also the first Postmaster General.)
Since Congress has given up on its oversight authority, we have a battle on our hands. OJ has already tried to rig the midterms by Gerrymandering. This is the next step. He controls the national list of registered voters. Can we expect that all registered Democrats will be on the list? What is the plan to allow voters to challenge the list? Democracy Docket is in court trying to invalidate the use of the list and stop the overreach that the list represents. There’s no requirement in the law that states turn over their voter lists to the federal government. Pray that they prevail soon.
VOTE!!!
Compromise cannot exist in a system defined by loyalty, where domination is the central operating premise.
So, Peter /Theil has run off to Argentina, just where the Nazis went, including Eichman. How special!
Compromise assumes both parties are rational. No point in talking about it now.
Fear->safety seeking->god. Faith doesn’t compromise. Ask a Muslim.
Compromise assumes both parties are rational. No point in talking about it now.
Fear->safety seeking->god. Faith doesn’t compromise. Ask a Muslim.
Ormond is correct in his assumption regarding the accepted definition of the term “compromise”, there is also the situation of “being compromised” as we are now. Our current “compromised” condition is that of an incomplete abortion and Trump is wielding the wire hangar.
“Everybody’s talking at me, I don’t hear a word they’re sayin’, only the echoes of their minds…” Can’t remember the musician but the words express our lack of ability to put our words into action; the repeated truths ARE becoming echoes in our minds day after day after day. What do we do on July 4, 2026 to celebrate the birth of this nation in its current condition of decline? Will there be candles to blow out in hopes of our wishes coming true? Let’s all plan a moment of silence to hope for someone rational in this government to find a way to compromise before someone lights a fuse rather than candles.