Choosing Not to Communicate

I always find it frustrating when two people I view to be at least fairly reasonable fail to communicate. I understand everyone has their own perspective and preference to the point they may not totally agree with where another is coming from on a given issue. Yet when a point of contention arises, literally not being able to find common ground - no matter the passion one carries with them - and, thus, some sort of agreement never ceases to surprise. Perhaps this is me simply being naïve. But the reality of reasonable people not finding that common ground - no matter how small - remains difficult to grasp. I find the concept of "agreeing to disagree" not so much a foregone conclusion but more of an example of two people giving up.

What is triggering this current state of perplexity of mine is the shutdown of the federal government now underway. The primary point of contention revolves around funding the United States federal government so that it may continue to operate. The specific point of contention is the Affordable Care Act, adopted in 2009. (As of October 1, citizens are not free to begin signing up for it.) The divide is largely political and is taking place in the halls of Congress. A vote to keep the government open represents a vote to assure the continuance of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans wish to defund the act and Democrats wish the opposite. As a result of this sharp disagreement, the federal government is currently shut down.

Is what is going on - or not going on - in Congress a failure to communicate or a choice on the part of members of Congress not to communicate? My sense is these so-called reasonable people - our elected officials - are being driven more by principle than they are a desire to identify enough elements on which they agree. Until they reverse their priorities, this roadblock they have created will continue. Thus, what we are seeing is not so much a lack of communication as a choice on the part of the people involved not to agree. This is what happens when reasonable people choose to be unreasonable.