Watching the latest bit of legislative "Russian Roulette" being played with the lives of the American people, I've become absolutely convinced that on almost every issue or group of issues, there appears to be a reasonable position or positions, a right wing position or positions, and a left wing position or positions. To me, that is generally the setup for compromise. If there are reasonable majority public positions in the center, the right and the left move toward that reasonable position. 

Instead, we hear the president make certain concessions and then hear the republicans try to tell us that the president is a socialist and isn't negotiating at all. Well, we all know that there is a truth, and then there are politics. 

Taking four of the issues of the day, I'm going to try to define what I think are the reasonable positions held by the majority of Americans, then identify what I think are the far right positions {which I identify through observation} and the far left positions {which I identify through a personal belief system}. 

ISSUE #1: DEBT REDUCTION

• Reasonable Position #1: National debt is a combination of too much spending and too little revenue.
• Reasonable Position #2: Taxes and other revenues must increase.
• Reasonable Position #3: Spending must decrease in a realistic manner.
• Reasonable Position #4: National debt recedes when employment is high. Both government and private business have a roll in keeping employment high.
• Right Wing Position#1: Taxes must not be raised in any debt reduction deal. This includes no increases on income, estate, capital gains, and business taxes.
• Right Wing Position #2: Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid should either be eliminated, privatized, or severely cut back.
• Right Wing Position #3: There should be no decrease in defense or military spending. In fact, the percentage of defense spending in relation to GNP should be increased.
• Left Wing Position #1: Taxes should be raised on the top 2% of earners on all forms of income.
• Left Wing Position #2: All income above a certain level should be treated as earned income. This includes estate, capital gains, and business taxes.
• Left Wing Position #3: Medicare savings should be realized through negotiation with pharmaceutical companies redefining payment schedules under part D, medicare.
• Left Wing Position #4: Defense and military budgets must be decreased and brought in line with military spending throughout the world.

ISSUE #2: GUN RIGHTS

• Reasonable Position #1: The second amendment is valid, but can be modified based on progress in the development of armaments.
• Reasonable Position #2: Assault weapons and large magazines should be limited to law enforcement and active military.
• Reasonable Position #3: Consideration of new laws and review of laws currently on the books is necessary given the number of mass murders and incidents utilizing assault weaponry.
• Right Wing Position #1: There should be no additional gun laws. There are more than enough current gun laws on the books.
• Right Wing Position #2: Armed guards / teachers should be placed in every school.
• Right Wing Position #3: Murders will be significantly decreased if concealed carry laws are implemented throughout the United States.
• Left Wing Position #1: Repeal the second amendment and replace it with local right to own laws.
• Left Wing Position #2: Limit the number of guns and the capacity of those guns  that Americans are allowed to own.
• Left Wing Position #3: All gun sales must be accompanied by a criminal background and mental health check.

ISSUE #3: HEALTH CARE

• Reasonable Position #1: Implement the Affordable Care Act as passed.
• Right Wing Position #1: Totally repeal the Affordable Care Act.
• Left Wing Position #1: Replace the Affordable Care Act with Universal Single Payer Health Care.

ISSUE #4: CHURCH AND STATE

• Reasonable Position #1: Religions have the right to function within the law, free from government interference.
• Reasonable Position #2: The government has the right to function within the law, free from religious interference.
• Reasonable Position #3: Private businesses and individuals must follow the legally passed laws of the nation.
• Right Wing Position #1: An individual's religious belief can be imposed upon those who do not share those beliefs.
• Right Wing Position #2: Specific religions can be excluded from public forums at the insistence of the majority religion.
• Left Wing Position #1: The separation of church and state is absolute.
• Left Wing Position #2: All references to God in the pledge of allegiance, on our currency, or on any other government document is unconstitutional.

Think about the positions that are dividing our country. Are they intractable? Only in the eyes of the most fervent ideologue. Our legislators may have political beliefs at ideological extremes, but they represent an America that goes from the furthest left to the furthest right with most in the middle. The problem is that we keep electing these unmovable wingnuts that never loosen. We allow them to gerrymander our districts so that they get re-elected even though we keep telling them we don't like what they are doing. Most republicans are in republican majority districts and most democrats are in democratic priority districts. These political jackals think that none of you can think for yourselves. The most conservative and the most liberal vote without thinking because they know they are going to be re-elected. 

This will only stop when we all start telling them that we are not democrats or republicans, liberals or conservatives. We are Americans and we pay them to govern. If they don't do that, we will collectively pull a "Donald Trump" and tell them "You're Fired!"