Compromise

The topic of this post is a reaction to the polarisation of American politics. President Obama's Middle East speech this past week was somehow taken to be an attack against the Jewish community; a deliberate attempt to redefine and weaken America's relationship with Israel. I did not see as such. Hours after the speech was delivered, bloggers, journalists, and editorials both commended and criticised the President as if his speech coincided with or departed from a deeply-rooted ideology. This is the problem with editorial/opinion pages; they are merely opinions.

Alarmed by the unduly amount of controversy sparked by a 55 minute youtube clip, I sat at my desk and listened. Obama, quite tactfully and accurately, pinpoints the underlying problems standing in the way between the Western and Arab worlds; stereotypical misunderstandings. Towards the end his remarks, the President called for a return to the 1967 Israel-Palestine borders. In other words, Obama pleaded with both sides to reach a compromise through land swaps. Throughout the speech Obama praises Israel, assuring America's continual support for and protection of a Jewish state. The only way forward is compromise. That is the end of violence.

I get it- people are committed to certain political ideals. What I believe America has lost is a commitment to the highest political ideal, the essence of politics; compromise. Sure- freedom of religion, freedom of speech, the right to vote, and a host of other political rights and obligations are certainly essential in any society. But lest we forget, the very source of a right, obligation or a society, is a body (polis) of individuals who agree to form an association, out of which the forums of deliberation lead to some form of compromise. While Tea-partiers have every right to cling to their 'No Tax' platform and while Left-wing nuts have every right to protest Military funerals, any advancement towards peace and reconciliation (the goods of society) requires compromise. A lack thereof has caused myself to become disenchanted with, and faithless in what I believe to be a beautiful thing- politics.