Today, I’m thankful for those willing to meet in the middle.
Well, we’ve come upon the halfway point, or the middle, of the last month of 2020. Soon enough, we will be knee deep into the winter season, with snow, ice, and wind taking its toll on our wretched bodies (and our wearied souls). The dark, desolate months that herald the most frigid season of the year often makes us want to curl up into a ball, like a bear, and hibernate until spring. In the Northern Hemisphere where I reside, the majority of bears are well along into their hibernation season, tucked away in their caves and crevices, content to pass the long wintry months with a cozy slumber. That is, except for those gorgeous white bears – the polar bears – which reside in the far reaches of the Arctic Sea. For them, the season of the ‘feast’ has just started. After months of near starvation in the summer, due to the thinning and dissipation of the ice upon which they hunt for ringed or bearded seals, these majestic mammals find themselves back on the ice in search of food. The bitter cold of winter brings forth with it an expansion of the Arctic ice southward, thereby providing the polar bears access to the rich seal population upon which they will now feast.
The life of ‘feast or famine’ for the polar bear has finally turned for the better, but the sad fact is that it won’t last for long. You see, the warming temperatures in the Arctic have slowly, but steadily, reduced the season during which these Arctic carnivores prey. In fact, their hunting season has been curtailed by more than a month in just the last few decades. Polar bears have been forced to rapidly adapt to survive. Not surprisingly, their population is shrinking, distressingly reduced in some places by nearly a third in just the last half century. The extreme life of the polar bear is sadly being tested more with each passing year. For this magical creature of the North Pole, there is no middle ground.
But, polar bears are not alone.
We all live in a highly ‘polarized’ world where we cannot seem to find ‘middle ground.’ In our daily lives, we are naturally surrounded by family, friends, neighbors, & work colleagues who often carry a vastly different viewpoint from our own. Nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to politics. And, why would we ever expect anything else? We live in a nation where political thinking has become more divided with each passing year. The ‘Donkeys’ of the Democratic Party often espouse a belief system that is diametrically opposite to the one championed by the ‘Elephants’ of the Republican Party. Much like the ice platforms in the Arctic, the polarizing chasm between these two parties seems to lengthen with each passing year.
This divide was never the intended course our forefathers had envisioned. When the Constitution was originally crafted, the anticipation was that politicians, irrespective of their disparate creeds, would learn to come together – ‘cross the aisle’ if you will – to reach compromise on bills to enact laws. In fact, the grand Capitol was built on First Street in Washington DC with this sole precept in mind.
Around this time in 1858, a nearly 17-year renovation of the original Capitol building was reaching its completion. If you recall, the central Capitol building, where the dome sits atop the giant rotunda, still stands to this day. The edifice was built after the War of 1812 (a story for another day). At that time nearly 210 years ago, the massive, stately structure seemed sufficiently large to address the needs of the federal government. However, its architects failed to appreciate that our young nation was expanding at break-neck speed, as the number of admitted states into the Union would more than double in just the first half of the 19th Century. Rapid westward expansion under the credo of Manifest Destiny increased the number of states from 13 in 1789 to 33 in 1858. With this growth, the physical space where Congressional leaders perform their daily business also needed to adapt. So, as 1858 came to a close, the finishing touches were added to two new wings of the Capitol building, each with sufficiently large chambers to allow for open congregation of its full Congressional membership.
On the right side of the Capitol building, the spacious Senate Chamber was equipped with movable desks to allow its Senate representatives of the same party to congregate in a single group. In 1859, the 66 seats in the Senate were arranged in 3 groups to account for the trio of political parties in operation at that time. Large, natural aisles separated these groupings, but without a physical barrier. In other words, desks could continue to be moved about, especially as parties reached ‘across the aisle’ to find compromise. Today, that same chamber is separated into just 2 groups with a large middle aisle in between. Sadly, the aisle is widening (at least metaphorically) between the two, but it does not need to (i.e., those desks can still be rearranged at a moment’s notice). But, my profound worry is that any potential for compromise between our two political parties is becoming a more distant reality.
Perhaps Congress should take a lesson from their forefathers who framed the United States Constitution.
Back in the late 1880s, our forefathers were seeking to establish a new law of the land in the face of the failing Articles of Confederation. After much debate, the document that came to be known as the United States Constitution materialized. When the Constitutional Congress formally signed the new Constitution in Philadelphia in September 1787, after 5 months of debate over its final structure, the document still needed to be ratified by 75% of the states’ legislatures (9 of 13) to become the official law of the land. Although 5 states immediately ratified the Constitution in December of that year, others would hold out because the document failed to outline the basic political rights for the people, such as the freedom of religion, speech, press, and peaceful assembly. Even more so, the document failed to outline that any undelegated powers were rightfully reserved to the states. So, it was not entirely supported by any of the remaining states because of what it did not guarantee: "The Conventions of a number of the States ... have expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added."
So, after some further discussion, a number of states agreed to sign the Constitution, provided those additional assurances were immediately proposed. By June 1888, 4 additional states sought the ‘middle ground’ and ratified the Constitution, recognizing that James Madison was already hard at work drafting an addendum known as the Bill of Rights. This short document added the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Formally ratified on this day (Dec 15) in 1791, the Bill of Rights provides the essential freedoms many, on both sides of the political aisle, treasure to this day.
With no disrespect to polar bears, I must candidly admit that I’d have just enough of the ‘feast or famine’ mentality of our polarized leadership in this country. I recognize that finding middle ground is never easy. In fact, it’s somewhat akin to ‘herding cats’ – a fitting reference on this day (Dec 15) when we celebrate National Cat Herders Day. Nevertheless, conciliation and compromise are not only the cornerstones of our Constitution, but they are also essential 'in order to form a more perfect union.'
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