Compromise

(Benefits and Traps)

Compromise is an agreement reached by the parties involved.  It requires making concessions in order to achieve a more rewarding mutual goal.  It is a mechanism of dialogue that, if successful, recognizes mutual worth and mutual possibility. It is a normal tool used in decision-making by independent beings seeking an interdependent relationship – whether it be individuals, institutions, or nations.

The problem with compromise is that it invites itself to become a lifestyle.  Particularly is this so in the world of politics where it is often viewed as a necessity for the achievement of common goals.  When a politician allows one’s self to become so enamored of compromise that it becomes a lifestyle, then a number of traps beckon entry.

One such trap is to allow compromise to become a mask for a subtle cowardice that fails to stand for what should never be violated.   Cowardice often cloaks itself with the mantle of principle. Another is to allow compromise to lead to the illusion that “a half loaf” is as good as “a whole loaf”.  What is lost to compromise should always be acknowledged.  A third is to allow compromise to blind one’s self to a gradual loss of integrity.  Integrity is to live in accordance with one’s beliefs and values.

It was entering these kinds of traps that caused Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of England, to make fateful negative decisions of appeasement to Hitler at the outset of WWII.  Compromise can be the prelude to disaster as well as the onset of reward. 

There comes a moment in the process of compromise that requires those involved to draw the traditional line in the sand that retains integrity, whatever the cost.  Particularly is this the case in a democracy.  There are three imperatives of democracy that no politician should ever compromise.  The first is anything that demotes the innate worth of any segment of the citizenry.  The second is anything that diminishes the common good of the whole citizenry.  And the third is anything that debars the right of every citizen to vote. 

Whatever the platform of politicians or political parties, they should use compromise for social benefit but never allow such to entice them into its debilitating traps.  Unfortunately, history is a record of the interplay between the two.  And the present is no exception.  When compromise becomes a substitute for courage, then self-deceit wins.

Robert

mythinglink.com