Seeking common ground ... civilly.

• Author: Haran, Gerald M., Jr.
• Position: American Thought

WHILE I was enjoying my traditional post-gig libation in a favorite Lower East Side dive, my attention was drawn towards two guys sitting at the bar engaging in a feud over politics. Back and forth they went, from topic to topic, often non sequitur, describing in great detail how they (and by proxy, those that think like them) would change the world for the better--if only the other side would let them.

Despite all of their posturing, buzzwords, and talking points, the arguing parties actually had agreed on nearly everything. However, they were so enthralled with placing blame and discrediting their opponent that they had failed to see the miles and miles of common ground they were standing on. That moment in the bar was a microcosm of our generation's Zeitgeist. Our world is so tom apart by political vitriol, media bias, and totalitarian activism that we are unwilling to see just how far we have come, let alone how well we are doing.

One of the more interesting arguments the two men engaged in was over the hot-button topic of student loans. After the hub-bub died down, I mosied on over. It would be in poor taste to recount the events of the evening using their actual names, so let us call the smaller gentleman Bernard and the larger one Donnie. So, there we were, three strangers discussing education policy at what was now 2:30 a.m. of a workday. I took the lead, explaining that I, too, had very strong opinions on the matter and believe education--and specifically the cost of higher education--to be the most pressing domestic issue the U.S. faces today.

They agreed with me. I then stated I had overheard their earlier discussion and actually believe them to be in agreement with one another. They looked incredulous, and asked me to explain. "Don't mind if I do," I said, turning to Bernard "You're a [Bernie] Sanders supporter. You believe education is a right and therefor should be free." He nodded in agreement as his friend Donnie scoffed, "Free ..."

I continued: "You, Donnie, believe making higher education 'free' would both artificially inflate the bottom line price of education and further dilute the job market."

"Bingo," he said, "Subsidies are the reason we are in this mess."

"So you see," I replied, "we all are in agreement."

Donnie' shot me an arrogantly dismissive look so trademark of today's conservative, while Bernard's mouth-agape stare bemoaned the hallmark naivete of the modem liberal. You see, compromise is a dirty word these days, and the pundits these men watch and regurgitate have not taught them how to identify common ground, let alone seek it out.

"Both of you agree...