“Compromise” Has Become a Dirty Word
A large majority of voters think politicians from both parties should get together, compromise, and come up with solutions that work. Nobody, however, wants to be accused of “compromising”. Therein lies a problem. Compromise is the basic political act necessary for governing. Demands are reduced. A middle ground is found. Agreements are reached. We co-exist. There is a darker side, however, to “compromise”. A second meaning, becoming more common, that makes compromising more difficult. The image is one of “giving in”, “weakening or lowering standards”, “betraying one’s principles”, or “suffering damage”. As in:
“The video caught him in a compromising position.”
“His reputation was compromised by his actions.”
“The integrity of the dam was compromised by the earthquake.”
As this second meaning replaces the first, we shy from compromising. Nobody wants to be accused of compromising their principles. We need a different word to describe the political act essential to governing – bringing people together. My favorite is “accommodate”. It suggests to make room for, to make comfortable, to allow for, to help out. As in:
“If we add more chairs, we can accommodate a larger crowd.”
“Do you have accommodations for a person with disabilities?”
“If we move the furniture around, we can accommodate your needs.”
Words associated with accommodate are "blend" and "combine." The essential task for Democrats over the next two months is to figure out how to accommodate each other so that we can start the new administration with some semblance of unity. Enough unity to start talking with Republicans about what both parties might agree to, to fix the nation’s ills. Enough unity to offer the voters a program we will fight for in 2021 and they can support with their votes in 2022. If we can’t come together, why should they offer us another chance? If we want to govern, we must blend and combine our values and our wishes. We have the chance. Success will come more easily if we remember the perfect is the enemy of the good; whatever we accomplish will be more than we have now; getting Democrats together is only the first step; getting enough votes to get something passed and problems fixed will be much more difficult. In an example of accommodating diverse needs, hydroelectric dam operators and environmental groups several weeks ago agreed to a set of specific policies for generating more electricity from existing dams, making them less damaging to the environment, and accelerating the removal older dams. Each, in getting what they most wanted, made room for the other’s needs. The agreement, even though two years in the making and motivated by the growing threat of climate change, shows what can be achieved when negotiating is not a zero-sum game. We can also learn what not to do from the Republicans. Since Tea Party Republicans ousted incumbents in primaries the Republican Party has not been able to govern. Members cannot agree on how to replace Obamacare, fix healthcare, or how to address the COVID-19 economic collapse. The Party didn’t even try to write a Platform for the 2020 election. Being the anti-government Party, the Republicans have some cover for government failure. We don’t have that luxury. There is a second word we should embrace. Creativity. Our differences are real. Some are substantive. Some have to do with strategy. They can’t simply be waved away. We have to creatively figure a way to break out of the pattern we have fallen into. Fighting over the same issues. Hanging on to the same attitudes. Albert Camus, the French philosopher, writer, and resistance fighter, wrote these words at a time when the political divisions in France after World War II were immense. “Contradictions are not resolved by conceptual synthesis or a purely logical compromise, but in an act of creation. … each adversary enriching the other.” With creativity and the will to get it done as Democrats, we can, and must, find ways to accommodate each other as we seek solutions for the nation’s ills.
Douglas Kane is the author of "Our Politics: Reflections on Political Life" published in 2019 by Southern Illinois University Press [subscribe2]