By the time you read this, President Obama will have delivered his State of the Union address and Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin will have delivered the Republican Party response. Those few people who sit through both speeches will have faced the usual grand rhetoric, some big, vague plans and much commentary about what should be done for America
The effort to downplay partisanship — some Republicans and Democrats sitting together during the addresses — suggests that at least some lip service will be given to bipartisanship, compromise and perhaps toning down the rhetoric on both sides. All of those attributes must take place if a Democratic president, Democrat controlled Senate and Republican controlled House of Representatives are to make meaningful progress during 2011.
The biggest issue facing America in 2011 is not the economy. It’s not the deficit/national debt, nor is it healthcare or immigration, global warming, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq or the troubles posed by Iran and North Korea.
The biggest obstacle America encounters in 2011 is a government so partisan, angry and so divided that it cannot — or will not — be able to take action to significantly address any of our major challenges. Like the national debt, like immigration and like healthcare, this is not an issue that has crept up on us quietly and quickly. We’ve created this governmental obstacle over decades, reducing the legislative process to a caricature of government.
The division is reflected by the voters who, led by the two parties, have become increasingly polarized to the point that all matters dissolve into simplistic red or blue solutions, where “success” is defined by the triumph of one party’s ideology over the other. For example, for all the hand wringing over the growing deficit, whatever political party takes power can be counted on to add record amounts of red ink to the national debt. Not only does neither side pose a solution, but both also contribute to the growing severity of the issues facing America.
It is likely that both Obama and Ryan will speak to the concepts of compromise, cooperation and bipartisanship, but like so much else that comes out of political addresses, those will fade away as Congress gets down to business unless enough members of both parties recognize the danger of continuing to put politics ahead of progress for another year. If the major concern of the two political parties is who’s ahead on the political scoreboard, another year will be wasted while the issues that bedevil America worsen.
The state of the union is politically induced dysfunction. Until our elected officials learn to work together like adults, putting the needs of the American people ahead of those of their party or their politics, until they learn to demonstrate respect for one another and conduct the affairs of government with civility, there will be no meaningful progress, no solution to the myriad problems that vex America.
By now you’ve heard the colorful and encouraging words from Tuesday night. What matters is whether our leaders have the courage and character to rise above their parties and politics to address the challenges of 2011 and beyond. Only that can change the state of the union for the better.
