Bail out Wall Street. Bail out the Banks. Bail out any institution that pulled the rug out from the economy, but don't try to put people back to work with public works, or increase unemployment benefits—that's too expensive.
Yes, there is a great deal of money that could be spent on public works and more financial system bail outs, but we can not afford to go hog wild in either direction. There must be compromise, and a commitment to balancing the need for a flexible banking and monetary system against the need to regulate that system and keep it from self-destruction out of greed and short-sightedness.
It is all about balance, negotiation and, yes, holding firm to principles. One can have principles and still compromise. The key is to find the happy medium.
This is neither weakness, nor blind self-interest. It is reality: in order to get along in society, we must compromise, or, “learn to play nice in the sandbox.”
The problem is, many Republicans and more than a few Democrats have lost sight of what this nation is: a works in progress. While the 'strict constructionists' would love to see the Constitution back track to 1780, that is not going to happen.
We are not the same country we were 220 years ago. We have grown, matured. And in that maturation process we have learned that this country can only survive if we hold on to our principles and learn to compromise with those who do not believe as we do.
Contrary to what many think, God did not hand the Holy Grail to the founders of the nation and elevate them to sainthood. The founders of this nation were rebels, free thinkers—and, yes, they full well understood the dangers of religious extremism.
They knew the history of the world. They knew about the British Civil War, the battle between England and France, the wars between Catholics and Protestants, the enmity between the Church of England and Presbyterians and other Protestant sects, not to mention the Crusades, which pitted Christians against Moslems.
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