Negotiating spirit missing from White House

Shelby Foote, acclaimed author of the Civil War trilogy by the same name, once said the root cause of that tragedy was our collective unwillingness to compromise. “Compromise” he wrote “is the very foundation upon which the Republic is built, and negotiation is how it is accomplished.”

At no time since the 1850s has the nation been so polarized. Blunt refusals by our president to negotiate reveal him to be more than ideological, inept and imperious, it betrays a fundamental contempt for the very nature of governance that rests on checks and balances.

Enforcing his pique he bullies World War II veterans of the greatest generation, seeking to prevent them from visiting their own memorial while allowing illegal residents to demonstrate on our National Mall. It is a rare microcosm of transparency that speaks volumes. Take from those who earn, those who sacrifice, those who paid the price and give to those who have not. Fairness? Justice?

Wielding the compulsory force of government it is nothing more tantrum, thuggery and theft. We are not fond of kings, Mr. President, and government serves people, not the other way around.

Steve Quick

Arlington Heights