Jim Leach: Can We Restore Compromise and Civility to Politics?
[Jim Leach, a former 15-term Republican member of Congress, is chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Mr. Leach was recently honored with the Search for Common Ground's "Common Ground Award" for outstanding accomplishments in conflict resolution, negotiation, community, and peace-building.]
As chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, I have been crisscrossing the country speaking on the subject of civility and its centrality to American history.
The good news is that Americans from the left and right tell me they're hungry to reclaim a brand of politics that is spirited, but not mean-spirited. There is widespread recognition that the times demand sacrifice as long as it is mutual and fair.
What is being tested in the wake of unconscionably divisive campaigns is whether a newly divided government can muster sufficient goodwill to accommodate diverse perspectives and function effectively.
For years, politics has been considered the art of compromise, but for many of today's political activists, compromise is an untenable concept. Yet, if all men are created equal, surely it follows that everybody can learn from somebody else....
Read entire article at CS Monitor
As chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, I have been crisscrossing the country speaking on the subject of civility and its centrality to American history.
The good news is that Americans from the left and right tell me they're hungry to reclaim a brand of politics that is spirited, but not mean-spirited. There is widespread recognition that the times demand sacrifice as long as it is mutual and fair.
What is being tested in the wake of unconscionably divisive campaigns is whether a newly divided government can muster sufficient goodwill to accommodate diverse perspectives and function effectively.
For years, politics has been considered the art of compromise, but for many of today's political activists, compromise is an untenable concept. Yet, if all men are created equal, surely it follows that everybody can learn from somebody else....