Politics

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I typically don't write about politics here (although it is a great interest of mine), but I have to bring it up because of what I read recently in Liz Cheney's book (Oath and Honor). This woke me up as to how naive I have been.

You see, the image in my head has always held onto the hope that even though our parties have differences, they share a love of our country and strive, together, to work for our betterment. (They actually did attempt to do this recently with a bi-partisan bill about the boarder, but it couldn't get passed, because of the "politics" game being played.)

Anyway, here's an insider's description that snapped me into the reality of how things really work. I found it very sad:

"It's hard to overstate the extent to which Democrats and Republicans inhabit different worlds in Congress. Our parties meet separately and organize
separately . . . . This is not to say that bipartisanship doesn't exist; it does . . . But in a legislative body such as the House of Representatives, the majority and minority parties are typically working toward different goals and objectives, trying to thwart the other's plans at every step." (Oath and Honor)

It's like a really bad marriage, apparently. In a healthy marriage, two people work together in the best interest of each other and the family. In the political scenario, if the parties are our parents, and we (and our country) are their children, me thinks we are in big trouble and headed for divorce.

I'm not a historian, so maybe you can tell me, was there ever a time when my vision of a somewhat healthy, political marriage was a reality? Seriously, I'd like to know, but please avoid any snarky, mean comments.

Janet Cassidy

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