I’ve been thinking this morning about the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, and the discussion it has started about the hatred and vitriol in politics today. This is a good and necessary discussion, and I sincerely hope it moves us towards working together to make this country better.
While my mind was musing on the subject, it wandered over to the reading of the Constitution earlier this week. One of the things they did when reading it was to omit the parts of the Constitution that had been superseded or were no longer applicable. That was a big mistake, for in many ways those are the most important parts of the constituion.
Let me explain. Take the slavery provisions. Those provisions demonstrate that the founders were of divided mind: Some wanted to prohibit slavery completely; some wanted it full and unfettered. But they were able to achieve a compromise that moved the country forward. Eventually more was learned, and the constitution was modified to correct the errors. There are important lessons there: sometimes compromise is necessary for forward motion, and that sometimes something distasteful comes along with something good. It also demonstrates that as time goes on we learn.
Another example is the 19th amendment. Prohibition. An amendment passed and then later revoked. Again, this is a demonstration that it acceptable to say: we made a mistake, we learned, and we’ll undo it.
It seems that today we’re unwilling to compromise, to work with the other side. We’re unwilling to admit our mistakes. This unbending creates problems (I’m thinking right now to the Mens Club Shabbat service yesterday morning where we read Parshat Bo, and saw where Pharoah’s unbending and hardened heart got him). We need to learn to work together, without hatred.
