Much of our political gridlock stems from an inability or unwillingness to analyze and accept ideas on their merits. Can you imagine a more enlightened political atmosphere?

Below are some important ideas that deserve more attention and explicit discussion. They are organized under three general topics: common ground, partisanship, and creative solutions. We hope you will find them thought provoking and consider contacting us to share your views. As this website grows, we will add more topic categories, centrist ideas, and links to essays about these subjects.

On common ground:

⇒  Principled liberals and conservatives have long understood the important role that institutions can play in providing a stable foundation for a peaceful, free, and productive society.

Contrary to their rhetoric, “bomb throwers” against the “establishment” from both political extremes do not really want to “blow the whole thing up.” They implicitly rely upon the persistence of key fundamental aspects of civil society, such as the peaceful transfer of power, the rule of law, and certain unwritten rules of personal and political behavior. Let’s publicly identify, cherish, and support those fundamental prerequisites that both conservatives and liberals can agree upon.

⇒  Attacks on the value of facts, experts, and intellectuals are fundamentally an assault on the cherished American values of education and progress.

People whose lives have been changed and enriched by new discoveries and insights — whether scientific, religious, political, artistic, spiritual, philosophical, or technological — often have a strong desire to share what they have learned. They want to share knowledge to help others enjoy greater happiness, authenticity, richness, and opportunity in their lives and, together, to create a more just, prosperous, and peaceful world. Educators who seek to share their insights deserve encouragement and praise.

⇒  We don’t have to agree about whether people are fundamentally bad or good.

Some people assume that human beings are essentially bad and that the government and other institutions need to control bad people and protect those who abide by the rules. Others assume that people are essentially good and that the government and other institutions should focus on the environment to ensure that the good potential in everyone can rise to the surface. Can we all agree to disagree on whether there’s a knowable, fundamental nature of human beings and proceed on the assumption that everyone has the potential to do good or evil in certain circumstances? And that one’s environment matters a great deal, even though some disadvantaged people are able to overcome terrible adversity and others of privilege end up failing miserably?

On partisanship:

⇒  Certain policy positions in American politics often cluster together, making it difficult to achieve sensible compromise.

“Loyal” Republicans usually believe in lower taxes, strong gun rights, limits on abortion, and fewer governmental regulations. “Loyal” Democrats usually believe in the opposite set of ideas. Our political culture should not treat clusters of beliefs as litmus tests; they lead to harmful polarization and limit politicians’ ability to mix and match policy positions for the good of the country. (Read more about “declustering” here.)

⇒  Moderates are as responsible as extremists for our domestic political paralysis.

When centrist Republicans and Democrats fail to sharply and publicly criticize the extremists in their respective parties, they silently enable them.

⇒  Our Constitution was designed to depend on political compromise.

Citizens should encourage their representatives to compromise. Congress should consider hiring professional, non-partisan mediators to broker compromises among representatives with opposing views.

On creative solutions:

⇒  In our current economy, many people are still unemployed or underemployed, while others are overworked.

To create more jobs and stronger families, perhaps we should sharply limit employers’ ability to require or allow their existing employees to work overtime — thus encouraging new hiring and discouraging workaholism.

⇒  Everyone should support government programs that collect more money than they cost, cause no harm, and further the public interest.

Certain government expenditures more than pay for themselves while simultaneously furthering an important public goal. For example, hiring more Internal Revenue Service agents to conduct audits leads to more government revenue and fewer scofflaws. Investing in preventive health care can protect against diseases that harm people and require more expensive treatment. Supporting such measures should not be a partisan issue.

⇒  We have much less polarization about our common “interests” than about our disparate “positions” on how to promote those interests.

Almost every American, for example, has a shared “interest” in having a secure country with economic opportunity, even if we have different “positions” about how to advance those interests. By identifying and elaborating upon our common interests, before debating the details of our positions, we may be able to reduce polarization.

Can you add to this list? Can you write a short essay about any of these topics? Contact us to share your thoughts.