I have not been following politics as closely as in the past. Like many of you, I need a break from the absurdity and indefensible partisanship. Like most of you, however, I can\u2019t escape politics completely, given the print press and 24 hour television news cycle. My response vacillates between sadness and disbelief to anger.<\/p>\n
There are vital, serious, and important issues that the government should be looking to resolve. Further, there are real crises which demand attention now and cannot be kicked down the road until later. Unfortunately, our bickering and ideological paralysis may continue to prevent coming together for common cause. Such intransigence flies in the face of reason and common sense. I often wonder how we managed to put aside partisanship and cooperate with our Allies during World War II.<\/p>\n
What are we going to do about the immigration issue on our southern border, an issue that has been with us since the 1930s? What are we going to do about maintenance and renewal of the nations\u2019s infrastructure, much of which dates back to the 1930s and 1950s? What should we be doing to reconcile the racial divide that has plagued us since the 18th century?<\/p>\n
These issues are largely bipartisan and should be addressed by both parties for the good of the country. The climate debate should be taken up with the seriousness it deserves; unfortunately, it has become a strident partisan issue that only brings forth ridicule, denial, and accusations.<\/p>\n
There are other important issues such as health care, of course, that raise important questions regarding the role of the federal government and its relationship to the private sector. These, too, need to be addressed and be debated vigorously given the partisan and ideological differences among us. In the interim, let\u2019s at least work together to resolve long-standing issues that threaten our wellbeing and benefit all of us.<\/p>\n
The current brouhaha over the filibuster in the Senate reflects the growing frustration with the bitter partisanship and gridlock in Congress. Its retention or demise hinges on whether our representatives learn to work together or remain estranged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I have not been following politics as closely as in the past. Like many of you, I need a break from the absurdity and indefensible partisanship. Like most of you, however, I can\u2019t escape politics completely, given the print press and 24 hour television news cycle. My response vacillates between sadness and disbelief to anger….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-robert-fischer"],"yoast_head":"\n