One of the common complaints I hear is that the country is to divided. We are so partisan. We are falling apart. We need to come together. What brought this to the front of my mind today was a magazine cover on a desk at church. It was a relatively current edition of World magazine. Its had a picture of President Obama with a background of blue and red. The cover comment was, “Divided We Stand.”
I have news for you, we have always been divided. Go back and read the debates as the Constitution was hammered out. The large states and small states were at each others throats. The free states and slave states could agree on nothing. It was these differences that brought about the balanced form of government that has served us so well.
Pick a time in our history. We have rarely agreed on anything as a nation, anything that is, except the basics of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Tariffs. Immigration. Sedition. International relations. Labor unions. Pick a topic and you will find that we are divided.
I hope that we stay divided. It is a sign of freedom of thought. It is a symptom of a vigorous republic. It means that we are continuing to think and to care about issues. The only place in the world where everyone agrees is a graveyard or an absolute dictatorship.
What happens when we get united? When the Democrats had both houses of congress and the presidency they spent like drunken sailors. When the Republicans had the power they spent like drunken Democrats. When there is unity we get things like Obamacare.
No thank you. I will settle for being partisan. I like cars and clothes in different styles. I like the choice of tacos, pizza or burgers. I think you should have the choice of tofu, bean sprouts and organic veggies. Just don’t make me do it your way.
Vive la difference.
homo unius libri
Amen. Besides, how can we compromise with evil?
ReplyDeleteWe can't. When we try, we get chewed up and spit out.
ReplyDeleteGrace and peace.