Respect and Political Disagreemen

I believe that One of the great strengths of our republic is our freed to freely speak and print our political opinions. We all have opinions and we each believe that our opinions are correct or else we would not hold them. At this point in time there is a great chasm between democrats and republicans and very little room for compromise. Over the years it has been the ability to reach a compromise that has made good government possible. There have also been times when divisions were so great that no one listened to the other side. The worst case was in 1860 when Lincoln was elected President and the civil war erupted.

I believe in the principle of the loyal opposition to the party in power as a guiding light. If I loose an election I can oppose the leader’s position but still respect the office and the person holding that office. Respect for one another is the main key to our system of government and there has been a lot of that lacking on both sides of the spectrum. There is a big difference between honest disagreement and hatred. Honest disagreement helps to build consensuses while hatred only tears down and makes consensuses almost impossible. Hatred is something that destroys the vessel that holds it.

Some people that I love dearly have claimed that our current president is the worst we have ever had. I disagree with that position; he does not even come close to being the worst. President Richard Nixon was the worst and I once worked to get him elected. President Grant would come in at number two. Having said that I note the there has been some good in the worst of our presidents and some bad in the best of them.