THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 1, 1996 TAG: 9512290024
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A8 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
1995 was a disquieting and disorienting year. We have learned afresh how divided we are - racially, politically, economically. Big changes are afoot, but the mood is far from morning in America.
For much of the year the nation was transfixed by the spectacle of the O.J. Simpson trial. Instead of a lesson in justice, it turned into a demonstration of media overkill and racial polarization.
The year's most shocking event was the Oklahoma City bombing. If it had been the work of foreign terrorists it would have set the nation's blood to boil. Instead, the nation grieved to learn it was the work of domestic dissidents.
And once the rock was turned over, a depressing array of angry, disaffected groups was discovered scuttling away from the light. Government haters, militiamen, white supremacists, religious zealots. Hate turns out to be in season in America, and its corrosive effect shouldn't be underestimated.
The stock market went up like a rocket all year, but it was a strangely joyless ride. The gains came amid weekly, sometimes daily announcements of huge layoffs, a weakening economy, constricted prospects for many Americans.
And though we bestride the Earth like a colossus, militarily, we have no taste for foreign entanglements and seem unsure what to do with all our power. It can be argued that helping Bosnia seek peace is in line with our best traditions, a noble act. But there is no enthusiasm for risks without a tangible payoff.
Our flirtation with isolationism means we are not attending to forces that may come back to haunt us. In Asia, the Chinese seek to expand their economic reach and the Japanese drift from our orbit. In Russia, there is evidence of political backsliding. Important parts of Latin America are accidents waiting to happen. We appear uninterested.
The year's biggest story, of course, was the takeover of the nation's political agenda by the first Republican Congress in two generations. For much of the year, the White House was reduced to a footnote.
The House began exuberantly to push through its Contract With America in the first 100 days. Important Contract provisions that breezed through the House failed to pass the Senate, however.
Republicans and Democrats are at odds over many issues - what services citizens are entitled to, how to pay for them and which governmental duties belong at which level of government. But for much of the year, the real disagreements have been between Republicans themselves over the line-item veto, term limits, taxation and a host of other matters.
The effort to get control of the budget is essential, but it will take years and isn't going to be fun. Seniors don't want to stick their grandchildren with a huge debt but worry about enduring cutbacks in Medicare or Social Security. The president has shamelessly demagogued the issue, but some Republicans have played down how wrenching some changes they favor are going to be.
The country must confront fiscal reality: Our appetite for government services exceeds our willingness to pay for them. Republicans deserve credit for insisting on reform but can't ignore public insistence that the pain that fiscal responsibility requires be apportioned fairly.
If division rather than cooperation prevails, there may be a deepening disenchantment with politics. Even many who practice it are disenchanted. The list of those calling it quits increases daily: It includes admirable figures like Sens. Nancy Kassebaum and Bill Bradley. Colin Powell announced in 1995 that he lacked the fire in the belly (or a strong enough stomach) to seek the highest office in 1996.
The busy political season of 1996 could provide a needed debate over our future. That would be healthy. But there's also the risk that 1996 will degenerate into another mud-wrestling contest. That could leave voters even more turned off by the two-party system and hankering after a third option. by CNB