A local politician recently got into hot water over comments she made that appeared to compare public assistance to feeding stray animals. The person in question is not important nor is the course of the furor over her remarks. The situation is similar to what is happening throughout our broken, leaderless democratic republic on a nearly constant basis. A “talking point” that appeared clever was used as a substitute for rational policy discussion.
In the follow-up on the outrage the politician in question sent a guest editorial that deflected criticism through a long, rambling discussion about “leadership” and “compromise” in the legislature. It occurred to me that very few people understand that “compromise” itself is not an end, but a means to achieve an end – consensus, the way work is done in our system.