Divided Nation

Our nation is divided. We have always known that there is a division among ideological ends of the political spectrum but it is getting worst. In fact it is getting so divided that it has become impossible for our government representatives to come to any compromise and provide solutions to the problems facing America today. Keep reading Roberts article below to learn the latest incidents that show just how divided we have become. Robert also provides some explanation as to why he thinks division is deepening.

By Robert E. Freer, Jr., President of The Free Enterprise Foundation

Like the rest of you, I watch the developments in Washington appalled we cannot break loose from the “gottcha” politics of division, and I wonder what politicians take us for. I read today that only 2 percent of the populace trusts members of Congress. The president at 14 percent isn’t much better, but at least, he is not mired at the subterranean level of Congress. This sad news is indicative of the poor state of the political process as practiced today. It is limited to partisan monologues and personal bloodletting; lots of heat and no light!

On one side, I listen to the President talk about staying the course, and I hear experts warn of the dire consequences to those left behind if we were to leave Iraq with the job only half done. On the other side, I hear Senator Reed plead the war is unwinnable, that we are continuing with a failed policy and doing that incompetently. In his view and that of his party, our only alternative is to turn tail and run home, turning our back on the majority of Iraqis who are fighting alongside us to create a democratic Iraq.

While I side with the Administration’s perspective on this, neither side has engaged in a comprehensive discussion with the other. What about the moral question raised by our abandonment of millions of Iraqis to the greater terror to be rained upon them if we pull out? It may have been a mistake to get in, but the tar baby has us, and wouldn’t it be an even bigger mistake to leave under the current circumstances? Are there better alternatives? Unfortunately we may never know because the parties are locked in position unable to find the middle.

I have gotten used to the misuse and sloppiness of politicians’ mangling of our language, but what disturbs me is the virulent attacks that are uttered with such vehemence we are to suppose their accuracy from their pure mean spiritedness. They make no room for honest difference of opinion.

One of those recently in the news is John Grisham, an author, some of whose books I have found entertaining. Reading his words I wonder if we are living on the same planet. Mr. Grisham evidently hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and was recently interviewed by the Des Moines Register. Here are a couple of quotes, “The war is an immoral abomination that we’ll pay for for decades to come,” ... “We’re paying for it now at the rate of 100 kids a month while Bush plays politics with it.” And here is another tidbit from the interview. “I’ve always thought that they were bad people with evil intent – and all that; it’s playing out now,” he said. “You can’t look at any aspect of the government in the seven years so far that’s been run properly.”

The RNC, when asked replied, “President Bush’s aggressive prosecution of the war on terror has kept America safe.”… “His fiscal policies have grown our economy, and he has upheld America’s position as leader of the free world.”

In Mr. Grisham’s case we may be getting closer to what really peeves him when he says, “… But they run up record deficits, taking care of billionaires that they want to take care of. Don’t get me started on politics. I could go on for a long time.”

Albeit smaller than previously estimated and narrowing, I am not real happy either with the deficits of which he speaks, but as my article “Paying the Piper” from two issues ago has demonstrated, the rich are hardly getting a free ride. The portion of our national income tax paid by the top 1 percent of our population is now almost 36 percent of all taxes paid, and the top 5 percent are paying 56 percent. Taxes paid by those earning over a million dollars have almost doubled in the last few years to 236 billion dollars. That is the sign of economic success, not abuse. It is anything but. Beyond a flat tax to produce no more revenue to the government than 20 percent of GDP, I would prefer to have those who earn the income decide how to spend it. They couldn’t do any worse than the bureaucrats and probably can do a lot better. In fact the economy their activity has propelled has kept our economy close to full employment.

Mr. Grisham’s diatribe is one of the more lucid attacks. Many such as the “Patraeus Betrayus” folks deserve nothing but our distain at best and a ticket out of the country more appropriately. Though I disagree with Mr. Grisham, I can surmise what ails him, not so the villains behind Move On .org. Grisham is a classic limousine liberal who figures we all work for Uncle Sam. In their view Uncle Sam is better able to spend our money for us. So long as Uncle Sam listens to liberals on how to spend it, then tax away to your heart’s content.

As a nation we are developing into two nations unwilling to reach the compromises that have characterized our political process for much of our history. Before The Reagan Revolution and the downfall of Democratic Party Rule on Capitol Hill, the Democrats had prevailed for more than 40 years in setting the parameters of the political debate. Republicans were merely holding back the inevitable tide of government, compromise after compromise. Democrats want that era back and are so hungry for it that they have become virulent in their attacks. As the map below illustrates, the nation in adjusting to the sharper debate is dividing into blocs of big city voters and their satellite communities and heartland voters that make up the rest. Thank Heavens for the Electoral College. Without it our heartland values would be submerged in urban blue.

Map of results by state of the 2004 U.S. presidential election, representing states won by the Democrats as blue and those won by the Republican Party as red.

With more representatives likely to be allocated to Sothern and Southwestern States as a result of the 2010 census and reapportionment, the city dominated states feel they must win in 2008 if they hope to tilt the playing field in their favor for a long time to come via redistricting in 2010.

Take heart however. If we but exercise our willpower, there is hope for solutions on the issues that divide us. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich is leading a nonpartisan series of online workshops that will tackle the most divisive issues looking for consensus solutions.

American Solutions for Winning the Future kicked off from the Capitol on September 27th, and the first series of online seminars was held on September 29th on issues stretching from environmental preservation to immigration, health care and taxes. Unlike politically sponsored efforts seeking to divide us into voting blocs, its goal is consensus on those core issues for which we need to break with the past and move forward. Whatever your feelings about Newt, he is the most creative thinker on the political scene today, and his academic credentials suggest the process he has initiated might well come up with some interesting proposals that all of us might embrace. I urge you to participate. We have nothing to lose but our frustration with politicians who seek to divide us. Their website can be found at: http://americansolutions.com/

About the author: Robert E. Freer, Jr. is President of The Free Enterprise Foundation. He is a Visiting Professor, at The Citadel and elected in 2005 to be their first John S. Grinalds Leader in Residence. A regular contributor to the Mercury, He can be reached by E-mail at The Citadel . Copies of his earlier columns can be found The Free Enterprise Foundation.

If you’d like to contribute an article to this collection please e-mail it for review .

Go to 2007 Business Ethics Articles from Divided Nation