It should be clear to anyone following the news that our country is extremely divided. We have gone through terrorist attacks, a recession and a controversial war and now are in the midst of a divisive election battle. While division should be expected in times like these, the radical divisions and power grabs we see now are unacceptable.
Political pundits of all stripes have commented on how they have not seen such a divided electorate or a hotly contested race in decades. Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Speaker Dennis Hastert and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have made little or no effort at bipartisan cooperation in the House, while the same can be said for Majority Leader Bill Frist and Minority Leader Tom Daschle in the Senate.
Essential bills were held up for personal or partisan reasons. The JOBS Act, intended to cut rising European Union tariffs, was held up so that every senator could add a favor for his or her favorite corporation. Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, from Iowa, even held up emergency hurricane relief for Florida because he was upset over cuts to farm conservation programs.
Party leadership should condemn these disgusting tactics, not endorse them. They are a disservice to our needs as a nation and our image in the world.
In addition, the polarization of media on both sides has resulted in a public that cannot agree on basic facts. A recent University of Maryland nationwide study found that Bush supporters and Kerry supporters disagreed on numerous objective facts: whether WMDs were found in Iraq, whether there were strong ties between Iraq and Al-Qaeda and whether the majority of Europe supports President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq. If people can't even agree on the facts, how can they ever unite on anything, or at least agree to disagree on issues?
These leadership and media divisions seem to indicate that this dividing trend will last beyond November. Furthermore, the likely possibility of another contested election, with armies of lawyers battling over which votes count, will only serve to embitter those on both sides of the battle and further divide the nation.
I do not expect either side to lay down its beliefs for the sake of unity. But I find this level of division unacceptable. To take advantage of every opportunity for political gain, even postponing hurricane relief, is nothing short of spiteful.
Even worse is the recent gerrymandering done by both parties, most notably Texas Republicans' redistricting the state for purely partisan ends. To draw illogical district boundaries in order to ensure that one's party will win elections regardless of how the people vote is not only shameful but dangerously undemocratic. If people do not speak out against these tactics or vote out those who perpetrate them, we will become still more divided.
Politicians on both sides have, in their hurry to gain power and influence, left fairness, respect and democratic principle behind. While this is not new, the contrast between the unity in our nation just after 9/11 and the division in it now is nothing short of spectacular. Three years ago we saw 3,000 innocent Americans murdered, Democrats and Republicans included; it made us more united than we had been in 50 years. Now it seems some would be willing to count the dead from the towers to see if the other party lost more.
This summer I job-shadowed a lawyer in my town. He is a family friend of ours, and a Republican. While we ate lunch one day after court, the testy topic of politics was breeched. But our discussion of politics did not last long before we each noted how disgusted we were with the extraordinary partisanship in our country. While we disagree on much politically, there is one thing we strongly agree on: The spirits of compromise and community lie in civics. When politics begin to override civics, compromise, community and respect for differences begin to break down. When those things break down, we all are worse off.
This division needs to end. We as citizens need to tell politicians and the media that we are tired of it and want them to work together to address the issues that affect us all. At this point it seems little more than a prayer to ask the next president to heal the wounds of the last four years. Yet, that asking, or demanding, must be done by all who want us to see each other first as humans, next as Americans and, perhaps much further down the line, as liberals or conservatives.
Rob Sand '05.5 went to Washington, D.C., last spring as a uniter, not a divider.
