Winners and losers

I was just watching the coverage of President Obama signing the health care reform bill into law. I have to admit that my relief at its passing is tempered by a large amount of ambivalence regarding the entire process that led to this historic event. I wonder what the price to this country will be, not in terms of money, but in terms of the endemic unwillingness to allow reason and compromise into the debate. I don't think I've ever seen this amount of divisiveness,or such rabid, bestial behavior on both sides of the issue. To be certain, there have been polarizing issues faced by this country's legislators from the very beginning. Independence from England, the place of slavery in this country, isolationism, taxation, civil rights and separation of powers are just a few of the issues that have caused deep political rifts and spawned epic debate and, eventually, sweeping change for this country. Is it just me, or does this one feel way over the top in terms of ridiculous hyperbole, race baiting, fear mongering and hate? How did we come to this? Who is responsible? How do we make it stop?

It's all too easy to apportion blame, to point the righteous finger and condemn those with whom you don't agree. As any reader of these posts can see, I am as guilty as anyone. I see examples of the most ridiculous opinions being stated as fact, pronouncements of impending doom from both sides of the aisle, and I cannot help but ridicule and belittle the hubris and sheer numskullery I see and hear. I count on my readers to recognize the sarcasm and, when they have a differing viewpoint, to express it. I do my best to consider their views and respond accordingly. I recognize and expect that not everyone will agree. I readily acknowledge their right to their own viewpoint. The sharp point of my sarcasm and scorn is saved for those who revel in ignorance, parrot the spews of pundits, engage in stereotypes and reject independent thought. Until recently I assumed that, media hype and punditry aside, most of us who possess the power of thought did the same.

That is, until yesterday. Yesterday I realized a corner had been turned when a person I've had a friendship with for 12 years allowed our frequent email correspondence to turn ugly. Though this person (a highly educated, highly decorated retired military officer and published historian)and I have widely differing views on politics, we have kept a spirited debate on that subject friendly, and have discussed history, golf, literature and other diverse subjects warmly. Until yesterday. The exchange yesterday rapidly became dysfunctional, insulting and disturbing. This highly educated, intelligent person began to spout the same hate filled invective you can hear nightly on a certain "fair and balanced" network (or, to be fair, the other network affiliated with the evil software giant as well). Read out of the moment and with no context, these emails are laughable and a little sad. In the moment and in full context, they become tragic. A noble force for reason and analysis has surrendered to fear and hate. A scholar dedicated to investigation and unbiased fact has abandoned both. His example is the most glaring to me, but he is far from alone. I speak to my friends and acquaintances and hear varying degrees of the same malaise. Many of us take the easy route, no longer gather facts before forming opinions, surrender reason to hype and spout whatever our favorite pundit says. There is no discussion, negotiation or compromise. Decisions are made based on ideology, not practicality. As we watch, or read the news, we are indoctrinated, not educated.

How did it come to this? How can we make it stop? History teaches us that stagnation, inertia and partisan deadlock in government leads to revolution, anarchy and tyranny, often in a repeating cycle. The Greek City States, The Roman Republic, Ptolemaic Egypt, Bourbon France, Tsarist Russia, Wiemar Germany, the communist bloc and many more governments have failed with disastrous results for these reasons (among others). Is this our future? Is this how it starts? The surest way to destroy anything is to be indifferent to it. Too many of our elected officials have become indifferent to effective governance. They have surrendered to partisanship and become prisoners of the radical fringe. If we, as voters, allow this attitude and behavior to stand then we too are guilty of indifference. Republican Romans felt that their society was immune from tyranny and monarchy because they had cast out their monarch at the founding of the republic. The Roman Senate allowed itself to become hopelessly mired in partisan politics and abdicated any kind of role in the effective governance of the city and its possessions. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus showed them the price of that conceit.

I wonder, are we laying the groundwork for our own Augustus? Will we see the warning signs in time?