A politicized nation must learn to compromise

I don’t know of any legal or parliamentary mechanism that would solve the problem of a government shutdown, which is symptomatic of a country so divided that not only can we not agree on what and how much to spend, as had been done for decades, but also we generally suffer from the inability to compromise in any meaningful way.

Compromise has become such a dirty word, especially on the right, that even the mere appearance of being willing to compromise is enough to scare many legislators and this so-called president away from it. While many people claim they’re tired of gridlock, they nevertheless often vote for the most partisan and uncompromising candidates and shun those willing to compromise.

Complicating the process more and more are those who try to gain leverage by shutting down the government. However, like President Trump is doing now, it’s usually done almost entirely as a political stunt than for any practical purpose.

Trump’s motive for forcing a partial shutdown is less about keeping a campaign promise (while ignoring the part about Mexico paying for the wall) and almost entirely about distracting the American people away from the Mueller investigation.

It’s also a devious attempt to set up the claim that we should just ignore any crimes he has committed because we shouldn’t remove someone from office trying to keep us safe (despite doing things like shutting down the very agencies and laying off many of the people responsible for border security, while overinflating the threat).

Timothy Gruber Salisbury Township