text: I think civility is a GREAT idea and I encourage it. Stop attacking people and concentrate on the merit of their ideas. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean they are stupid, evil or insane. STOP IT!
  
  But, in looking at the realm of ideas ...
  
  The problem is that compromise is what has gotten us into this mess. There is no viable way to compromise between the big spending,vast government ideals of the Democrats and the small government, fiscal conservatism that the country desperately needs. But that's what we've been trying to do for 60 years and we've watched as government has grown larger, more intrusive and more expensive until my 18-year-old owes $65,000 for a national debt that has done NOTHING positive for him or anyone he knows. We can no longer afford to compromise. The country is going the way of the Roman & British empires if we don't return to fiscal sanity. But the spenders won't compromise with the fiscally sane, so we're stuck in gridlock.
  
  And, Gerson ...