I am obviously a liberal, and some might consider me to be a bit on the extremist side. However, I bet that, with some discussion, I can get the average Republican to agree that we don’t need a gay marriage ban. There are just certain right-wing causes lately that fly into the face of some of America’s core principles, namely civil rights and the Establishment Clause. With such issues, I flatly believe that the other side is wrong.

There are also some causes that I support that aren’t directly related to the Constitution or America’s principles, though I could make a case that they’re indirectly related. These are those things on which I am willing to compromise with the other side, to find some place where we can all agree. But when the other side controls every branch of the Federal Government, and has key members literally saying no compromise, it’s difficult for there to be any sort of reasonable forum for opposing ideas to collide and settle as one.

We need more Republicans like John McCain. Someone who supports “traditional values” (whatever that means ), yet sees that the fundamental truth of democracy is that compromise creates better solutions than one viewpoint alone can come up with. The way I see it, progressives are the people who push for change, while conservatives act as a sort of brake and steering wheel so that we don’t become Holland over night. See, it’s not about right or wrong, or one side against the other; it’s about two parts of a whole. It is an important interaction that has been disrupted as of late. When the brake starts acting like the engine, nothing good will come of it.

Since I live in a red state, I naturally have many friends who are conservatives. Some are hardcore Bush-supporters. Of these, we do see the stereotypical NASCAR-goers. If it’s not that, it’s just someone who comes from a somewhat priviledged background and wants to keep it that way. Then there are the conservatives who like some of the things Bush is doing, but are completely against some of the other things. These are the sensible types, the ones who voted for McCain in the 2000 Republican primaries. Some of them read The American Conservative (a conservative publication which endorsed Kerry in the election). Some of them even voted for Kerry in this election. I even met a self-described “hardcore Republican” at a new job who had played a major role in a Republican campaign for one of Kansas’s state representative seats. Obviously, I have very few liberal friends. I was born here and have lived here most of my life, but I just came out on the left.

Like I said, it’s all about two sides working as one, balancing each other out.

Now, I wouldn’t agree that the Federal Government is our common enemy. After all, without the Federal Government, we may well still have states practicing slavery or keeping certain groups of people out of the voting booths. But there’s certainly a little room for argument here.