Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Polarization: Better to Bend Than Break

Some complain that American politics is become more and more polarized.  I would agree. The various ideological camps are having less and less in common with each other...and it is going towards a political world of winner take all and victory at all cost which I don't see ending well.

So what is the solution?

I think it is time to shrink the federal government and give more power back to the states, as the Founders intended.  That pushes some of the ideological battles back from the federal level back to the state level.  I theorize this will give the federal government more room to bend and not break.  Each side, one more than the other, will have to give up on using the federal government as a means of societal transformation for awhile.  Centralized initiatives like common core education, one law of the land on abortion and marriage will have to all be punted back to each state to decide for itself.

If not I fear the republic will fracture under the stress of various ideological battles.  I have strong stances on moral, spiritual, and fiscal matters.  But I don't see people who think the way I think winning, and I don't see them losing well either.  The same goes for the other side.  Until we learn again to have more in common with each other, maybe we should not try to force our way on everyone nor allow them the surface area to enforce their will on us.  Shrinking the federal government and going more the states' rights route accomplishes this. Why I'm becoming more libertarian slowly.

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