The name on the front of the jersey isn't as important in the sport of politics

I've been hinting at this post for a while, and after another seemingly sleepless night, it's time to finally broach the topic I guess.  I've had this hypothesis simmering in my mind for about a month now, regarding why politics in the US has seemingly been devolving of late.  Basically, I believe that in the end sum, our current state of politics is about two teams ('parties') competing for the winning score on the day of the big game every November.

I'm not going to fully develop this theory tonight, but want to build it piece by piece.  Tonight, I want to keep it simple.  It's important that we realize that what we're seeing now in the US government is both old hat and a new "ball game".  In the early days of the republic, it was not uncommon for fist fights, cane attacks, and the odd duel to break out over political disagreement.  My recent visit to Monticello reminded me of what "civil discourse" was in the old days.  But, today is different in a very fundamental way.  Back then, the disagreements and incivility were often based solely on ideology - two (or more) opposing viewpoints on what was best for the country.  Lies and deceit were certainly used, but in my optimistic heart, I believe that the intentions of all parties was to forge a solution that preserved and perfected our union. 

I see no such noble intent anymore.  I believe the discourse, if it could be called that, is about the scorecard.  How much money did your party raise by the deadline?  Which team has the most points (i.e. seats/votes) when the game (i.e. vote) is over.  The strategies are about winning for your team, not about perfecting our union.  It make great headlines anytime you can get 1 or 2 people to break with their team to actually try to explore compromises.  During Madison's presidency, Dolley would hold regular dinner parties at the White House so such conversation could happen on a regular basis.  The great legislation of US history has always involved compromise.  Even our beloved constitution - the document our armed forces defend and our leaders swear to protect - was a series of compromises. 

But now, because all that seems to matter is how much blue or red shows up on the screen on election day, compromise is verboten.  Break from the party, especially if you're republican right now, and you're going to be riding the pine faster than that "don't tread on me snake" can bite you in the ass.  It was the same in Pelosi's house - she had her team unified and no one stepped out of line unless the team's victory was secured.  Our Congress, in my opinion, has stopped leading in lieu of winning the game.  And too many of our citizens, I'm afraid, are satisfied with knowing their team won, and not about the actual policies enacted.

I leave you with this, my new favorite Jefferson quote du jour:
"If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization,
it expects what never was and never will be....
If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free,
it is the responsibility of every American to be informed."

 It's time for us to be informed, and stop treating our politics like a sport to be watched and cheered, in the hopes that our team drafts the right player in the 2012 presidential entry draft, and that the team functions as one  - all the way to victory.  I'd rather have leaders willing to ignore the name on the front of the jersey once in a while and remember the one on the back matters too.