Compromise

concessions; an adjustment of opposing

to make a deal between different parties where each party gives up part of their demand. In arguments, compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms often involving variations from an original goal or desire. In democratic politics, compromises are necessary if any progress is to be made. Politicians campaign standing on principle and demonizing their opponents, which is to be expected in a robust democracy. But then they have to be able to adjust their principles and work with their opponents if they are to govern at all. It is important to recognize that both of these definitions demand a middle ground in order to be effective, to move forward. By extension, to stand pat on an issue that is controversial simply means stagnation. The members of the Congress of the United States today do not understand nor do they know what the definition of compromise is. Either that or they simply ignore it. That is the reason that our government is at a standstill. The founding of America and its approach to a new system of governance based on human rights and laws was predicated on the concept of compromise. The Founders knew this. They argued, analyzed, cajoled on each point of this governmental system. They used their intelligence and knowledge to create what we have today. The Founders compromised on various issues of the day. The Great Compromise decided on two chambers of Congress the Senate and the House of Representatives after studying the Virginia Plan which proferred a plan based on population only, and the New Jersey Plan which offered a plan based on equal representation for any State. The Commerce Compromise decided on a plan to place tariffs on imported goods only. The North wanted to impose tariffs on all goods to protect against foreign competition. The South feared the tariffs on their goods would hurt their trade ability. The Election Of The President also was a compromise by the creation of the Electoral College. Many feared that a popular vote would be by an uninformed electorate and going through the Senate of each State was not feasible. In order to strengthen and bring up to date the concepts of national governance in the United States, the method used by the Founders must once again be utilized. After all, they knew what

legislators, notwithstanding their supposed knowledge of history. This, then, begs the question of what needs to be done to make our legislators equal to the Founding Fathers? My solution involves the removal of all the incumbent legislators and replace them with citizens who are concerned about the entire country, not just themselves or their immediate surroundings. How do we accomplish such a rash change? One method involves the elimination of the special privileges of the members of Congress. Included with this is the necessity of term limits with no chance of reelection at any time. In order for this to be effective, a reasonable length of time in office is necessary. My recommendation is six years. Even the Founding Fathers discussed this length of time as being sufficient.