One of my favorite movies of all time is “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” It stars Jimmy Stewart as Jefferson Smith, a naive man appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate.
His plans promptly collide with political corruption and gamesmanship, but he doesn't back down from his desire to do what's right for his country.
The movie was made in 1939 — the same year as “Gone with the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz” — so parts of it are hopelessly outdated. I mean, really? A movie about a member of Congress with a desire to do the right thing?
As I've observed the ongoing debate about the immigration in this country, I'm come to the inescapable conclusion that Congress less resembles a deliberative legislative body as it does kindergarten at recess. And let's throw in the White House, for good measure, too.
Just this week, we've seen instances of one side or the other getting upset at the negotiations and storming out. We expect that from a 5-year-old upset because his buddy won't let him play with his football. But we should expect – and demand – more from our elected leaders.
I'm always leery about writing about politics in this space because of the inevitable nasty emails it generates. A lot of people like to assume that because I'm a journalist, I must be a bed-wetting liberal. So let me state unequivocally for the record that this column is decidedly anti-Republican. It is also decidedly anti-Democrat.
If there were a viable third party in Washington, it would probably be anti-that, too.
I think it's clear to all of us outside the Beltway that no side in the immigration debate is going to get 100 percent of what they want. So that means compromise is necessary.
But in the world of modern politics, compromise is a four-letter word. Our elected officials are too busy grandstanding for the folks back home, trying to ensure that re-election bid, instead of sitting down with the person with whom they disagree and working together to find solutions to our problems.
Sadly, it has become more important today to stand stubbornly on some ideological principle to impress the voters than it is to seek real, meaningful answers.
I can't explain why compromise has become so difficult. It is inherent in the American psyche. Surely the rooms from which the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution emerged weren't filled with men of identical beliefs and opinions.
No, those men worked for what was best for their new country, certainly fighting for those things they felt strongly about, but also giving in when necessary.
This isn't just about the immigration. We can save discussions about how Congress has failed to address our national debt or Social Security reform or healthcare in any real way in my lifetime for another day.
I think the American public — you and I — is partly to blame. Someone once said the most important job in a democracy is that of the private citizen, yet so many of us are ill-informed, stand too firmly on ideology or simply are disengaged completely. We send the same clowns back to the Washington circus, or we don't vote at all.
America is a great country, the greatest in the world. But democracy takes hard work. We need to roll up our sleeves and do our part.
And that includes demanding better from our elected officials.
