On Purity and Politics…
Inherent in “We The People” is a rejection of purity politics. Democracy requires compromise; otherwise it’s merely authoritarianism. The hard work of our lives is the slow work of convincing our neighbor. There is no other way. There is no short cut. From one of my favorite philosophers, Tony Kushner:
“The principle of realpolitik is that politics isn’t an expression of your personal purity. Politics is about compromise. People need to understand that politics is very much a matter of the lesser of two evils, or three — however many evils, but you choose the least evil one.”
If you can’t be in community with those you consider to be evil, you most likely can’t be in community within a pluralist democracy. For always there will be disagreement; especially so amongst the purists.
