Paul Schimpf, a Waterloo Republican who is seeking the state Senate seat in District 58, finds the escalating tensions between political parties - at both the national and state level - counterproductive, but is hopeful compromises can be made by with a little more listening and a lot less talking.
“I don't think that our Senate district is all that divided,” Schimpf recently told Southwest Illinois News. “As related to the partisan gridlock in Springfield, compromise will have to be a part of the recipe to move Illinois forward.”
Schimpf explained that what some people call partisan hate, others call political passion.
“The problem is that our ‘passion’ contains a real chance of shifting our nation’s moral perspective,” he said. “When you hate your fellow citizens and view them as evil, it enables your conscience to justify all sorts of otherwise unacceptable behavior.”
Schimpf offered an example of how simple passions can create actions that are wrongly justified.
“I’m an attorney, not a philosopher," he said. "My brother, though, teaches philosophy at (the Catholic University of America). One of the great philosophical questions involves whether it is acceptable to meet evil with evil. We’d all agree that it was OK to lie to the Nazis if you were hiding Jews. (Yet) by that same logic, if your political opponents are evil, why not smear them, take quotes out of context or make life more administratively burdensome for them?”
Unfortunately, it is not only the political class that lacks decency, Schimpf said. He said he sees how society as a whole is becoming more antagonistic.
“The information and technology revolution, while tremendously beneficial overall, has politicized nearly all aspects of our society today,” he said. “How many of us are now casting our economic votes and choosing products based on the political preferences of the respective company CEOs? Our society is becoming truly polarized to an extent never seen before.”
Schimpf said that it is up to the leaders to set an example.
“I recently hung up my uniform after serving our country for 24 years,” Schimpf said. “One of the first, fundamental leadership lessons I learned is that an organization takes on the character traits of its leaders. If I cut corners, my Marines quickly began to follow suit. Why would our society be any different? Our leaders of both political parties need to ratchet down their rhetoric and acknowledge that opposing political positions are based on legitimate concerns and hopes rather than bigotry and malice.”
Schimpf stressed that public servants are not immune to the limitations of human nature. When they view political opponents as enemies rather than fellow citizens, treating them unfairly is easily rationalized.
“The first step to alleviating deadlock is to talk less and listen more,” he said. “However, we must pay attention to our constituents and what concerns them and make sure those concerns are heeded in Springfield. We can't let the deadlock and partisan politics in Springfield interfere or overshadow the priorities of our community.”
As for Schimpf’s role in listening more and paying attention to what his constituents want and need, he said he is working hard to hear them loud and clear.
“Many of our past presidents, Republican and Democrat alike, have paraphrased Alexis de Tocqueville, saying, ‘America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.’” Schimpf said. “We need to stop and reflect on whether the attitudes and discourse we currently share with others are commensurate with what we expect from citizens of a good nation.”
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