Ninth Stage

Heard on NPR about the “consensus for compromise that the recent election shows we want” (condensed and paraphrased).

Compromise is fine in negotiations over the sale of say a house; seller and buyer agree on a price somewhere between the asking and offer and everyone is happy at the end.

With natural rights compromise is not possible and is probably evil. This is how compromise works, for example, with gun rights:

Compromise 1
Liberal nannyist: We need to ban all guns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: No. That just seems wrong.
Liberal nannyist: Alright, lets just ban the scary looking guns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: Uhh, to be bipartisan and in the spirit of compromise, ok.

Compromise 2
Liberal nannyist: We need to ban all guns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: No. That just seems wrong.
Liberal nannyist: Alright, lets just ban handguns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: Uhh, to be bipartisan and in the spirit of compromise, ok.

Compromise 3
Liberal nannyist: We need to ban all guns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: No. That just seems wrong.
Liberal nannyist: Alright, lets just ban semi-automatic firearms, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: Uhh, to be bipartisan and in the spirit of compromise, ok.

Compromise 4
Liberal nannyist: We need to ban all guns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: No. That just seems wrong.
Liberal nannyist: Alright, lets just ban shotguns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: Uhh, to be bipartisan and in the spirit of compromise, ok.

Compromise 5
Liberal nannyist: We need to ban all toy guns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: No. That just seems wrong.
Liberal nannyist: Alright, lets just ban pellet guns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: Uhh, to be bipartisan and in the spirit of compromise, ok.

Compromise 6
Liberal nannyist: We need to ban all toy guns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: No. That just seems wrong.
Liberal nannyist: Alright, lets ban airsoft guns, for the children.
Uncommitted conservative: Uhh, to be bipartisan and in the spirit of compromise, ok.
Liberal nannyist: My job here is done.

compromise
v. expose or make liable to danger, suspicion, or disrepute;
“The rights of the people were compromised in service of progressive notions”