Rhetoric and the Turn of the Tide?

It really did seem like a pivotal point in the Senate, when obstinacy finally turned to pragmatism. Neither side wanted to see an already contentious atmosphere get worse by an order of magnitude. Then why, some ask, would Frist consider doing just that? It speaks of the arrogance, and the lack of vision, that he would see this as the course to take. 51% does not make a mandate. The "Fuck You" approach to government just doesn't work.

So, all the rhetoric was preempted by the few reasonable senators who recognized that we have more to gain by working together than against each other. Oh, how I would like to see that this is the turn of the tide, that the principles that have made "e pluribus unum" true for 200 years were restored, or at least remembered. But I have become quite cynical. The acrimony is too thick. The arrogance is too deep. The ignorance is too rampant.

(Separately, I have to say, faith is scary. When people believe their eternal salvation is at stake, a whole lot of actions that are unreasonable by any other standard suddenly become reasonable to them. How much of the acrimony is driven by a conservative view that Judeo-Christian mores need to be integrated into the U.S. government? And anyone who argues against this is accused of being against "people of faith." I tell you, this is scary.)

I have neighbors whose political views are starkly different than mine. In fact, I am clearly in the minority in this neighborhood. But I really like my neighbors. We have so much in common, wanting to raise our kids safely and with their best interests at heart. If we can focus on that common ground and not the issues that set us apart, we can all succeed. It sometimes seems that it is the most remotely relevant issues to our daily lives are the ones that are the most divisive in their impact.

I'm rambling, trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but fearing that the darkness will overtake all of us, leaving our children in a dark, foreboding future.

Ice cream socials and the rebirth of bipartisanship?

Heard an encouraging story on NPR about an "ice cream social" held yesterday in D.C. and sponsored by a Republican representative. It was attended by those from both sides of the aisle and was revealing for what is lacking in civility in D.C. these days. Comments on the loss of civility in Congress arising from the fact that representatives no longer spend social time together in Washington, opting instead to go home to their districts on the weekends. Members used to play golf together and otherwise spend time not in battle realizing that we have much more in common than we let ourselves believe. I don't foresee the end of partisanship, especially not until some people are willing to open their eyes to the reality that we have many different points of view and we need to accommodate each other somehow, or we are all doomed.