A basis for bipartisanship?

If House and Senate Democrats were to support the Republican 20-week abortion ban, I would encourage GOP support for banning “bump stocks.” We already restrict fully automatic weapons, and we already know how fully human a baby is after five months of pregnancy. I think that most Americans could agree on both of these limitations as being rooted in common sense and in the public interest.

It is not easy for me to advocate compromise. I deeply distrust the leadership of the Democrat Party, especially on fundamental issues like when life begins and on constitutional issues like our Second Amendment rights. Liberals have identical suspicions about conservatives. I do believe that both proposals have merit. But, part of me just wants to see if any deal “for the greater good” is still possible between us.

I wonder if we still possess the capacity to be Americans together, despite the increasing ideological division between progressives and conservatives, as well as between the political “elites” and everyday citizens. On this and other pressing matters of national security and identity, I most earnestly hope that we are still defined by what unites us rather than by what divides us.

Ralph K. Ginorio

Coeur d’Alene