Liberty Phoenix

Building a unanimous consensus on any issue, has typically been an exercise in futility. However, in watching the main stream news lately, one might come to the conclusion that we have finally resolved all points of contention here in the United States. Exploring both sides of an issue is considered a waste of time for most of our news critters. After all, we are told that Americans are tired of partisan politics and that we must come together to solve the near insurmountable challenges we face. It sounds reasonable on the surface, but only if you accept the assumption that our politicians were in any significant disagreement in the first place.

Listening to talk shows, Republicans and Democrats do frequently argue with each other about what is best in theory, but when it comes time to vote they, more often than not, choose to agree for the sake of practicality. The theories that each side espouses are always confined to their campaign rhetoric and rarely culminate in any sort of legislative action. Both sides are guilty of this, leading to the frustration of liberals and conservatives alike.

The two most obvious examples of this pertain to war and the economy. Liberals elect Democrats to end wars, and act shocked when their guys vote to continue them. Conservatives elect Republicans to be champions of free-market capitalism, and act shocked when their guys vote to nationalize the economy. In both cases, the Republicans and Democrats argue that the immediacy of the moment prevents them from staying true to their core beliefs. Just like hypocritical parents, they call on everyone "do as they say, not as they do."