Bright in a dull way

I'm stumped. The bitter partisanship in the US is disturbing, confusing, and frustrating. We see tremendous hostility when reading through viewer comments on large news websites. The heat between parties is not new, but the immediacy of the internet allows raw emotion to be instantly expressed rather than having the advantage of a little simmering down over time.

What is it that can possibly bridge the gap? My sense is that at the extreme ends of the political spectrum, nothing can budge those individuals in order to engage in reasonable dialogue. As the extreme edges fade away there is a slightly more reasonable and tolerant group that appears ready to talk. The problem is what percentages are we talking about.

The present administration is not regarded as falling within that reasonable, willing to talk margin. Bush is not a centrist. Diplomacy has not been his big selling point, nor has diplomacy been a particularly big selling point of others in the administration. Does anyone regard Cheney as a diplomat? Rightwing neo-conservative hawk yes, but he is not a diplomat.

What will get the dialogue going? What are the things that bring opposing sides together?

I work with very hawkish people all the time, every day actually. We get along fine. Its primarily because we depend on each other in our line of work. I do my part they do theirs, we're good. It could be that it is only at the level of person to person that any dialogue can occur. Its slow.

One thing I've noticed is that if the conversation involves economical solutions like improving gas mileage, or shortening distances, or somehow getting a bigger bang for the buck, there is usually bipartisan harmony. It never fails. I suspect there is more to it though. Somehow you need to actually develop a sense of respect. Is there anything you can respect about your hawkish or liberal acquaintance that is not in the realm of politics?

Let me say that I think war is the bottom of the line, it is an 'activity' that represents the last, the worst, the complete failure. America always appears to be at war, there is a war that is external to the boundaries and there is an internal war within the boundaries.

Structure by Le Corbusier