I’m still working on those movie reviews I promised the other day, but in the meantime I want to share a very astute op-ed piece I ran across during my morning surfing. It’s the first of two-part analysis of the seemingly intractable cultural divide that is currently crippling our political process, our national discourse, and, in a very real sense, our national identity. The author doesn’t pull his punches when it comes to the flaws of the Bush administration, but he also lays the blame for this deadlock on everyone, including the Naderites who condemn both of the more mainstream parties.

Here’s a vital paragraph that nicely crystallizes the problem:

The polarized atmosphere, the abandonment of compromise, the triumph of extremism, and the collapse of even any attempts at moderation may have achieved primacy during the Bush administration, but the groundwork was laid as a truly bipartisan effort. Over the past three or four decades, both Democrats and Republicans have gerrymandered congressional districts to serve their political parties rather than citizens, society, or community. There are now so few truly contested districts left that there is not only almost no demand for compromise, but an almost explicit mandate against it. Ignoring constitutional ideals and basic democratic tenets, politicians have gutted this country’s established operating principles. We are paying for it now, but the real hell is just around the corner, when we find this country electorally unable to face the problems created.