People have asked why I link to conservative blogs here. On a mailing list I’m on there is a big discussion about whether or not they should link to conservative blogs. I find these comments in profound contrast to a discussion I was part of Monday night about the book Extreme Democracy. In that discussion, there was talk about including more people in a deliberative process. In other discussions, people have talked about how compromise, which was once a key part of the legislative process, is now considered bad. Politics, itself, is also considered bad and an extended debate is derogatorily called ‘political theatre’.

President Johnson often used the phrase, “Come, let us reason together”. It was a call to deliberation and compromise. If he were alive today, it would be a call to cross-linking. It is a call that we desperately need to heed. Some of you will raise the objection about not compromising with those who are unwilling to yield on their side. That is true. That would not be compromise, it would be appeasement or capitulation. Instead, we should seek those on all sides of the political spectrum that are willing to engage in meaningful dialog.

The phrase that President Johnson used came from the first chapter of Isaiah where the prophet speaks out against a nation that has rebelled against God. The second half of the verse goes on to say, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

Reasoning together, meaningful dialog and, yes, cross-linking to conservatives are part of the reconciliation process that we need here in America. It is part of a process that we need to model to the people of Iraq if we want to see Iraq avoid further violence.

So, I will link to conservatives. I will even link to people that say things that I consider inappropriate and hateful if by doing so, I can help bring about a dialog to heal our country and our world. More importantly, I will go out into the marketplace. I will link to mommy bloggers, pet bloggers, sports bloggers, even SEO bloggers to the extent that I can get new people to join into the dialog about how to address the issues we face. I wish more of my progressive political bloggers would join me in this.

Come, let us reason together.