Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Compromise
Something that occurred to me in the last class was that Lincoln was a big fan of compromise as the best means to solve a situation or problem. With the issue over slavery, Lincoln was constantly attempting to arrive at some form of a compromise in order to make both the slave states and the non-slave states happy. Being a huge fan of Henry Clay; or as he is sometimes referred to as "the Great Compromiser" for his work in the past, it is not surprising that Lincoln would attempt to solve each conflict by Compromise. Is this seen as a personal weakness of Lincolns or do you feel that Compromising is a good solution?
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I think it depends on how much you compromise. If making compromises is what allows you to acheive the ultimate goal(such as ending slavery), then I guess it is better than never budging at all so nothing gets done. However, if you compromise too much of what you believe, then it's not worth it. I think Lincoln did a pretty good job of making necessary compromises without giving up too much.
ReplyDeleteI think that compromise is a great solution and I think that Lincoln was very dedicated to encouraging such a strategy for problem solving. I regards to Slavery, it was a very complex issue. Trying to find compromise became extremely difficult in the very flow of time.
ReplyDeleteThere is some ambiguity in the term 'compromise.' It is harmless, and sometimes productive, when it means 'accommodate to the legitimate concerns of others,' or 'adjust proposals to the realities of the circumstance,' but when it amounts to 'give in on matters of fundamental principle,' we find ourselves compromised.
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