BY PARKER SULLIVAN

Let’s imagine this: suppose the Indian Hill principal is an ally of Dr. Renner’s, a very close one who simply differs ideologically. They fundamentally disagree with each other, but must work together. Mr. Block, however, tends to disagree with Dr. Renner, and thinks more along the lines of the principal of Indian Hill. So much so that, instead of supporting Dr. Renner’s plan, he invites the principal of Indian Hill to come to speak to the Board of Education of Mariemont and discuss his own plan, which is much different than that of Dr. Renner. Essentially, Mr. Block is rallying the BOE against Dr. Renner.

How could this be justified? Is it not simply an act of disrespect, an act bordering on the edge of treason? Perhaps there is a right to do this act, but when considering how to run a district, the question sometimes becomes not what you can do, but what you should do.

Fortunately, this hypothetical situation is in no danger of happening at Mariemont. On a much larger scale, we as citizens of the United States do have this problem.

On January 21st, House Speaker John Boehner announced that he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak in front of the House of Representatives on the matter of Iran’s nuclear program on March 3rd. This act brought forth controversy over the respect between the two parties.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is the conservative leader of Israel and a vocal critic of President Obama. He strongly believes that if Obama does negotiate with Iran about its nuclear program, he will strike a weak deal.

Netanyahu is calling for an entire shutdown of the program.

The controversy is not within the two plans, but rather the action. Most of the criticism is coming from the perception that Speaker Boehner and Prime Minister Netanyahu are completely going behind the back of and disrespecting President Obama.

“The House of Representatives is an equal branch of the government, and we have a right to do it, and we did it” said Speaker Boehner in a press conference after his announcement.

While Speaker Boehner is correct in this statement, many believe that there is still disrespect in this act. Netanyahu and Boehner, both critics of Obama, were unhappy with the negotiations and took matters into their own hands.

It is a lot like a students working on a project in a group, in which two students are unhappy, and they proceed to go off and create their own project and rival their new project with that of the group. It lacks unity and is frighteningly reminiscent of a coup.

This is a trend that can be seen in many facets of our government.

“I think George Washington had a point when he warned us about the problems of political parties” said history teacher Michael Hanley, who believes that respecting others’ opinions is key to a bipartisan system of government.

“Argumentation is good,” said Latin teacher Kevin Ferry. “As someone who has studied history and historical languages, I know that is how it has always been.”

Debate and argumentation are the bases of democracy, but argumentation does not mean hostility or full-on neglect to compromise. In fact, it means just the opposite.

“Anytime you study argumentation or debate, it’s about finding a solution,” said Ferry, “I worry at times about the inability to compromise. In doing so, politicians betray the party, the Constitution, and mankind.”

This, unfortunately, is the threshold we have crossed. We have reached the point where members of a party can’t be seen together. It is like an English teacher not talking to a history teacher because they represent different interests.

On the floor of the House or the Senate, legislators are pitted against one other. They can be combatants, rivals, or even nemeses, but at the end of the day, all the men and women in congress should be fighting for what is in the best interest of the people they represent, not what is best for the party.

The unfortunate truth however, is that this polarity does not come from politicians becoming more extreme in their ideology – in fact, most of them remain somewhat moderate politically. The problem is the expectation of the two parties to not budge on beliefs, because the consequence is being labeled a traitor to the party.

This is not how democracy works. In order to get things done, the politicians must be willing to give on aspects of an issue. There should never be a news host that says an issue will not get passed because of partisan differences. That is not democracy.

Politicians, critics, and journalists have talked about partisan members of the government working together on issues for years. If action isn’t taken, the country has a real problem on its hands.

Our democratic system is based on argumentation and debate, it thrives in these things, but hostility is poison to our democracy. At the end of the day, we are all citizens with a common interest in American prosperity. Politicians must keep this in mind, and promote fair and respectful politics.

Stop turning Washington into a war zone and restore the peace of democracy and respect into politics.