A Sad Change

I read with interest this morning an article about the lost art of compromise in Washington, DC with the retirement of several senators. This has been a complaint of mine for several years at the local level; I can’t imagine what its like at the federal level. Compromise is such a key part of legislation and ideologues have started to dominate the election process and any compromise could ruin a career. This can be the case even at the local level and many times the best legislators are lost.

The democratic process is messy and communication is a difficult process anyway. Jay W. Forrester states:
“Even when only a single topic is being discussed, each participant in a conversation employs a different mental model to interpret the subject. Fundamental assumptions differ but are never brought into the open. Goals are different but left unstated. It is little wonder that compromise takes so long. And even when consensus is reached, the underlying assumptions may be fallacies that lead to laws and programs that fail. The human mind is not adapted to understanding correctly the consequences implied by a mental model.”

John Nalbandian states:
1.Good government is about values – not the right answer.
2. Value conflicts require compromise and negotiation.
3. This means the need to promote inclusion and goal accomplishment.
4. Alignment is crucial

Elected Officials need to display consistent standards while also being sensitive to the need to compromise. The news media is not going to stop closely reporting every detail of the legislative process and the cameras are going to remain in the chambers so public scrutiny is going to be as great as ever. Elected officials need to perform ethically for the betterment of society and avoid political tunnel vision.

Issues can be more satisfactorily addressed to the extent that there are clear and accepted processes for considering options and reaching the compromise position. Ultimately, all good public policy is the result of community participation, political vision and the ability to compromise.