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The Word's Eye View is a newspaper column written by
Compromise A significant number of voters consider themselves moderates when approaching the electoral process. The notion of moderation suggests a middle of the road attitude…one in which issues are weighed individually upon their own merit. Even the Scriptures say, “Let your moderation be known unto all men.” Interestingly, the word moderation is used only once in the Bible and a close examination of its usage and companion passages reveal its purpose is to regulate human behavior. The concept is quite simple…don’t eat, sleep, speak, work or play too much or too little. The difficulty with the moderates of both parties in Congress is that they usually lack distinct principles. They are looked to as the representatives who will finally forge a compromise between the opposing opinions. Political temperance sounds sophisticated, intellectual and educated, but does it really benefit the masses? Those on the far left and the far right expresses clear convictions about issues of great importance. For example, the liberals adamantly support abortion, higher taxes, increased social programs, welfare expansion, depletion of the military, open borders, gun control, suppression of free speech (unless it fits their agenda), massive spending and in general, big government. Principled conservatives oppose all of those ideas with similar vigor of the supporters. When moderates build bridges of compromise by virtue of their numbers, it is most often the right that gives up the most ground which results in gains for the left. John McCain is viewed by the American public as a hero, but his moderate stances present him as a person lacking bedrock beliefs. This appearance contributed to his presidential defeat. The recent two thousand page health care bill passed in the House embraces all of the items the left desired. It was the moderates who fell off the port side and made its passage possible. In spite of all the plastic platitudes of the so-called center, it appears they are typically jaded left. There is a necessity of disguise to maintain appeal to the “culturally refined.” Jesus Christ addressed the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3 with some startling words…“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold or hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.” This church is the last in a list of seven and consequently, representative of the last days’ thinking. Dispositions of the religious community and politics always mirror each other. The Europeans who lean left on nearly all issues no longer enjoy the influence of the religious reformers. The Great Reformation turned the continent to the right, but as the churches have drifted left, so have the politicians. Is there any doubt that Islam controls the reasoning that prevails in Iran? If anything can be said to their credit, it would be they are not lukewarm. In reality moderates are individuals who are constantly attempting to run the gauntlet of opinion with the lowest possible risk. The Republican Party is regularly being urged by the middle to move in their direction in the hope of attracting more voters. This is simply a rejection of any absolutes and a denial of firmly fixed truths. A recent survey reveals that 84% of our nation still considers the Bible a sacred document. One reason for that assessment is a universal recognition of its unwillingness to compromise. The Ten Commandments are still commandments. Moderates would seek to reduce them to suggestions to mollify those who completely reject them. James Cash Penney’s first venture as a retail proprietor (a butcher shop in Longmont, CO) opened in 1899 and failed almost immediately after he refused to bribe an important local hotel chef with a weekly bottle of bourbon. “I lost everything I had,” said Penney, “but I learned never to compromise.” Penney’s unwavering faith in the copy book of maxims of his youth roused skepticism in a mercenary age, but his credo underlay his success. At his death in 1971, Penney, 95, left a 1660 store empire which he built without compromising the principles he had absorbed from three generations of Baptist preacher ancestors. He neither smoked nor drank, and for years demanded the same abstemious conduct from his employees. “I believe in adherence to the Golden Rule, faith in God and country,” he often said. “I would rather be known as a Christian than a merchant.” At the time of his death the annual sales of B.C. were $4.1 billion and ranked it as the nations’ fifth largest merchandiser. Compromise is only appealing to the uninformed. Years ago a conscientious fellow in Washington D.C. decided he’d better build a bomb shelter on his property, and he filed for a building permit. His request was turned down at first because the plan violated the zoning ordinance---it didn’t have any windows! The more layers of bureaucracy we inherit, the more compromises will be required that make no sense.
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