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BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2023
Opinions
“Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost omnipotent. ”-
Henry W a i d Beeche r
Compromise is needed to avoid extremism
By Jay Bookman
Georgia Recorder
If you make compromise impossible, you make extrem
ism inevitable.
We see that dynamic playing out once again, with tragic
consequences, in the Middle East. For decades, Hamas
and its extremist backers have refused to acknowledge
that Israel has a basic right to exist; Israel in turn has giv
en lip service to the creation of a viable Palestine, while
diligently working to ensure that such an entity can never
exist.
Both Palestinians and Israelis have allowed their ex
tremists to veto any potential deal; neither has been able
or willing to compromise. That leaves them where they
are, with war as their only remaining means of working
it out.
We see the same dynamic at work in Washington. For
decades now, reaching back to the days of Newt Ging
rich as speaker of the House, conservatives have rejected
compromise as a means of problem-solving. They have
treated compromise as surrender, as defeat, and anyone of
their tribe who proposes compromise with the other side
is rejected as a traitor to the cause, as a RINO.
As we’ve seen in the GOP’s debacle over choosing
a speaker, the no-compromise approach has become so
ingrained into the party’s DNA that House Republicans
can’t “get to yes” even when dealing with each other.
They’ve learned that saying “no” is easy; “no” is safe.
“Yes” involves risk; it requires a degree of courage that
they simply don’t possess.
And if compromise is removed as a way of getting
things done, if no deals can be cut, then one of two things
are going to happen.
The first is nothing.
Without compromise, nothing passes, no decisions can
be made, no speaker can be elected. Tough choices are put
off, year after year, and problems that might have been
addressed relatively easily are allowed to fester and grow.
That’s a particular problem under the system created by
the Founders. The U.S. Constitution, with its intricate
checks and balances, was designed as a compromise-forc
ing mechanism. Without compromise, it simply cannot
function, and governing ceases.
As a result, we can’t address the debt, we can’t address
immigration, we can’t address climate change. All would
require compromise, and compromise is impossible. We
almost lost our democracy after the 2020 elections be
cause somehow, Republicans convinced themselves that
allowing the peaceful transfer of power wasn’t their duty
as Americans, it was an unacceptable compromise with
the Democrats that only RINOs like Liz Cheney would
support.
Without compromise, the only alternative way to get
things done is through brute domination. My side can get
what it wants only if it achieves overwhelming power
over your side. In the brief window when Barack Obama
had the votes, he passed the Affordable Care Act. When
Donald Trump had the votes, he passed tax cuts for the
rich. When Joe Biden had the votes, he passed a major
infrastructure bill. But over the past 20 years, that’s about
the extent of legislative success.
But the politics of domination require that you domi
nate, and Republicans do not and cannot.
They do not hold the White House — in the past eight
presidential elections, Republicans have won the popular
vote just once, in 2004 when George W. Bush was still rid
ing a post-9/11 wave of patriotism. They also don’t hold
the Senate. They do hold the House, but by a very slender
five votes. Yet they have convinced themselves and their
base that with that five-vote margin in the House, they
can dominate by holding the government and the country
hostage, threatening to do real damage to both unless they
get their way.
It’s a ridiculous theory; it has never worked and will
never work. But to even attempt such a stunt tells us a lot
about the frustration that conservatives have brought on
themselves. They spurn compromise in favor of domina
tion, and they aren’t capable of achieving that domination
through the ballot box. So where does that leave them?
Increasingly, in social media and “think tanks” and
even in outlets such as Fox News, conservative thought
leaders have begun toying with the idea that if they can’t
achieve domination through the electoral process, then
domination must be sought through some means other
than elections. And in case you think that’s alarmist, what
was the Jan. 6 insurrection and attempted overturning of
the election, if not a bid to seize power through means
other than elections?
When you hear mutterings of “civil war,” or secession,
or references to the Second Amendment, what you are
hearing are the late-stage consequences of rejecting com
promise, because without compromise democracy cannot
work, and we are at the mercy of extremists.
Jay Bookman covered Georgia and national politics
for nearly 30 years for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
earning numerous national, regional and state journalism
awards.
Bringing joy to others
As the length of my time has stretched
into many years, I realize the exceeding
importance of giving moments of kind
ness.
Take for instance, my friend, Edward.
Edward is kind and well-mannered.
Every person who knows Edward gush
es with love and stories of his thought
fulness.
It occurred to me that Edward, patron
saint of good deeds, had never had a big
moment that belonged solely to him, a
moment when all eyes were cast on him
as he bowed in the spotlight.
In my latest book, St. Simons Island:
A Stella Bankwell Mystery, Edward was
the inspiration for Stella’s best friend.
Chatham Balsam Colquitt IV is like Ed
ward but Chatty has a lot of old money.
Edward’s oldest money is no more than
two or three weeks old.
Like Edward, Chatty is a lively story
teller, entertaining with a vast vocabulary
and is steadfastly loyal to Stella. One re
viewer wrote, “Everyone would like to
have a best friend like Chatty.” Over
whelmingly, the readers and reviewers
all agree; Chatty is perfectly delightful.
We were preparing for the release of
the Stella Bankwell mystery. The launch
was a luncheon at the Cloister on Sea Is
land because it, along with St. Simons,
plays a prominent role in the book series.
Edward knew
about Chatty. I
said, “Now, Ed
ward, he’s over
the top. But so
are you. How
ever, he’s Pres
byterian and
you’re Method
ist.”
What Ed
ward did not
know and what
I wanted to be
a surprise was
that I dedicated
the book to him.
As Sea Island and I worked on Stella’s
unveiling, it occurred to me that it was
an opportunity to give one of the big
gest kindnesses of my life’s worth. Ed
ward was an only child. Very few fami
ly members remain. He has never had a
BIG moment. No college graduation. No
wedding. No baby or baby shower. He
had never had his 15 minutes of being
adored.
Secretly, I began to plot. I’d invite Ed
ward’s dearest friends - there are many
- and tell them that we were celebrating
Edward’s Chatty. Only a few trustworthy
friends knew that the third page read:
“This book is dedicated to Edward Arm
strong, my personal Chatty.”
I called the lovely Mary Jane at GJ
Ford on St. Simons and explained the
surprise dedication. She was selling
books at the Cloister and at the island’s
theater - which turned out to be the first
time in the theater’s history that an au
thor sold it out - and I said, “Please, do
not sell this book before the luncheon on
the 9th,” I explained. Mary Jane loves
Edward, too.
When the books came in, she hid them
under boxes, also writing, “Do not sell
before launch.” I called Righton, the oth
er book store.
Oh, but then the trouble started. The
devil, as you have probably noticed,
doesn’t like good things to happen.
The release date was set for August
8th. This is my ninth book and I have
never known any bookseller to release
before the “drop” date. It’s a gentleman’s
agreement.
I accidentally discovered that the pub
lisher was shipping the books out early
and that Amazon planned to start ship
ping its pre-orders.
If AT&T aggravations have shortened
my life by five years then this upset took
away another five. I will die young.
Nine days before the big surprise,
posts started popping up, “Got my book
today!”
I was frantically plugging every leak
as fast as I could. I tried to accept that
Edward would never have his 15 minutes
of adoration.
I prayed. I knew that divine interven
tion was my only hope. For days, I fret
ted.
God answered.
The moment I stood on stage and an
nounced the dedication, Edward’s mouth
dropped open as the entire room stood to
give him a three-minute ovation. While
they honored him, he cried, copiously.
When time came to sign books, Tink,
laughingly noted, “Edward’s signing line
is longer than yours!”
Nothing could have made me happier.
Ronda Rich is the author of the
best-selling of St. Simons Island: A Stella
Bankwell Mystery. Visit www.rondarich.
com to sign up for her free weekly news
letter.
Reminiscing about Helen
By Loran Smith
HELEN - I have had a love affair
with this community dating back to the
first time I ventured here in the Sixties
which came about when a far-sighted
man suggested that Helen was an es
pecial place. He was right.
Dr. Hugh B. Masters was an aficio
nado of the Chattahoochee and the
North Georgia mountains. He was also
an aficionado of all things outdoors,
everything from wildflowers to the riv
er rocks with which he collected and
built a fireplace for his home up on the
mountain which was a short distance
from downtown Helen.
His home, immersed in natural sur
roundings, gave him isolation amongst
the sights and sounds of nature. He
could read by an indolent fire in winter
and in soul cleansing sunshine and an
inspirational mountain breeze from his
porch in spring and summer.
He gloried in seeing white tail deer
encroaching on his yard and admired
their natural instincts. They were for
observing in their natural state. He
could never have pulled a trigger to
take one of them for a trophy for his
wall.
Dr. Masters was the first environ
mentalist I ever knew. In the mid-fif
ties when he became the first director
of the Georgia Center for Continuing
Education, one of five such centers
across the country, partially funded by
the Kellogg Foundation, he made the
chef and the gardener two of the high
est paid staff members.
His reasoning was that if you ate
well and you were in a becoming and
inspirational environment that you
would want to come back and would
leave with a favorable impression of
the University of Georgia.
The Georgia Center was built in a
pecan grove in which no pecan trees
were damaged or destroyed. That was
not a happenstance. Dr. Masters put a
clause in the construction contract that
would have resulted in a hefty fine be
ing levied against the contractor had
that happened.
It was Masters’ idea to build the
courtyard, the most fetching feature
of the complex, with the centerpiece
being a stately pecan tree. At the peak
of the spring and fall, that is the best
place on the UGA campus to enjoy a
cup of coffee.
As I drove through Helen recently, I
thought of Hugh Masters who bonded
with the late Peter Hodkinson whose
idea was to make Helen the Alpine
themed village it became.
However, I don’t think either of
them would have ever been compati
ble with the tattoo parlors and cheap
trinket emporiums that became so en
trenched with the passing of time.
The most nauseating experience
is to be standing in the Chattahooch
ee with a fly rod in your hands and
a disrespectful motorcyclist comes
through, allowing his repugnant en
gine to repeatedly backfire and pierce
the peaceful air.
I belong to those who think about
what might have been with Helen had
Hodkinson not lost his life in a hot
air balloon accident. Looking on the
bright side there still is ample opportu
nity to fly fish the Chattahoochee.
Book an outing with the congenial
and sociable Jimmy Harris of Unicoi
Outfitters. Jimmy loves the Chatta
hoochee and the Helen environs as Pe
ter Hodkinson and Hugh Masters did.
I am drawn to Helen today because
of trout fishing and a warm friendship
with Jimmy Harris who is a fly-fishing
aficionado non-pareil. You find many
gentlemen in any gathering of fly fish
ermen. Jimmy has one of the most
redeeming qualities there is when it
comes to fly fishing—he enjoys seeing
you catch a nice trout as much as you
do.
He chuckles happily as he offers en
couragement as you bring your quarry
to the net. He enriches the fly-fishing
experience with his kindred and neigh
borly manner forever making your day.
You hear the Chattahoochee crash
ing over abundant rocks and become
enthralled. As the water chums down
stream, you cast a fly into all that ram
pant movement and suddenly the slack
in your line disappears and you enjoy
the most uplifting of highs.
A three pound has sucked down your
tiny fly and heads downstream with
alacrity, intent on NOT making your
day. However, patience can give you
the advantage. There is no greater ful
filment than fishing with Jimmy Harris
on the Chattahoochee. Hugh Masters
and Peter Hodkinson would agree.
Loran Smith is a UGA commentator
and columnist for Mainstreet Newspa
pers.
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