On Compromising, and Progressives are Better Even When They Can't do Anything

GUEST COMMENT

www.NotOneMore.US December 23rd, 2009 5:53 pm
matti writes: "Politics works by compromise, and if you come to the table with something already compromised to your limits, you will leave it with something beyond those limits."

Actually, the truth is the exact opposite. Politics doesn't work because of compromise.

And when politicians or people agree to compromise core issues because 'that is how the system works' they are doing themselves, and justice, a severe disservice. Our current situation is a prime example of how politics and compromise doesn't work.

The unfair situation is that 'they' have framed how things work. 'They' say that you need to compromise. You actually don't need to compromise if your position is thought out, rational, just and fair, and important to you. It doesn't have to make everyone happy.

You don't compromise on your principle values.

Unfortunately, when you allow others to frame the scenario, to define the playing field, you have already lost.

You can compromise on what color to paint the kitchen. You shouldn't compromise on the war, health care, corporate bailouts.

This is what compromise is. You say you need your nose 2 inches above water. The other side says that you need it 12 inches under the water. You compromise, because they tell you that that is the way the game is played, so you agree to having your nose be only 4 inches under the water. After all, they compromised, and you compromised. Unfortunately having your nose 4 inches underwater is no different than having it 12 inches underwater.

You don't compromise core values. Others may call you selfish, unbending, egotistic, but in fact you are just standing up for your principles. Principles are only principles if you stand up for them.

Ethics and leadership require you to stand up against compromise against core values.

UNITY-PROGRESS COMMENTS
I gather you've noticed that in America some get everything they want without any compromise, some are supposed to compromise from time to time and get some but not all of what they want, and others are supposed to compromise every last thing away every time. You have to ignore the "supposed to's.

The only reasonable position was and will always be single payer or nothing. If there was a non right-wing president (yeah right, that will happen sometime before there is no US anymore) that's what he or she would say. So absolutely nothing would get done until single payer could and did pass. And nothing would be (a little or substantially) better than what actually passed, which only goes to prove that even when progressives are unable to do anything you are still better off having them.

The above was in response to this article at Common Dreams.