During the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week, Ivanka Trump said: “Like many of my fellow millennials, I do not consider myself categorically Republican or Democrat.”
As we approach the end of two weeks of conventions, we find ourselves hoping that she is indeed speaking for her generation.
America has long treated politics as a sport. “Republicans” and “Democrats” are teams with equally rabid fan bases. Elections are box scores, and the standings are determined by who controls Congress and the White House. Hillary Clinton is Tom Brady – loved by fans of her team and despised by everyone else – and Trump is a big-money free agent who doesn’t seem all that excited to play for the team that signed him. Meanwhile, many fans of the underdogs – Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson, etc. – aren’t so much hoping for a win as rooting for the two perennial first-place teams to lose.
But what if Americans didn’t have an allegiance to teams? What if they cheered for good plays, whoever made them?
In the sport of politics, the rooting interest would then be in sound policy for the greater good – and sound policy has to begin in the middle and with an open mind.
Look at any complex topic – the gun debate for example – and it quickly becomes clear how entrenched beliefs and the pull of the fringes makes progress nearly impossible.
For those who want to be able to own any gun they want, the idea of the government restricting their rights diminishes their sense of freedom, and thus their happiness. For those who desire a world without guns, a ban would increase their feeling of security, and thus their happiness.
The best play in this political game is not to make one side or the other happy but to craft a policy that least erodes the happiness of either. To make that incredibly difficult move, you first have to do something the typical politician isn’t skilled or courageous enough to undertake: Get the least talented players off the field. That means you send to the bench all those who want a country with no or very few restrictions on guns, as well as those who don’t believe in any gun rights whatsoever. Let the inflexible politicians and their like-minded constituents hit the road because they’re just getting in the way.
That leaves only the policy people on the field. The thinkers. The good players.
They are the ones who can craft legislation that respects both the freedom gun owners require for their happiness and the security the rest of the population requires for theirs. The fans, freed from their allegiances in this fantasy scenario, now have the ability to see the whole field and the good plays as they unfold.
Of course, that’s not the way the game is played in reality. Washington is a bench-clearing brawl and fans are fighting in the stadium parking lot. But the middle of summer is as good a time to dream as any.
Next time you watch a sporting event, pay attention to the beauty of the game. Forget about the uniforms and the player names – and don’t root for anybody. Just watch what they can do.
And as you assess local, state and national political races, try to look past the team names. Find the people, progressive or conservative, who are most capable of making the good play.