It's 5:30 pm on a Wednesday, do you know where your elected officials are? I ask because your answer probably  depends on your political predisposition. If you lean left you think those hard working civil servants are putting in extra hours trying to fix a broken America. If you lean right you think those overpaid bureaucrats are charging happy hour martinis to the taxpayer while waiting for their pensions to kick in. The ideological divide over the role of government is certainly nothing new (we had a civil war over it), but recently it has reached hysterical proportions.
    This problem has taken center stage because of health care, which has served as a nationwide litmus test for our trust in government. But the rhetoric reaches even more absurd proportions at the local level. Last week I listened to a two hour discussion on restricting wood stove burning in Chico. One side was convinced that regulating their right to burn was a clear violation of their civil rights and was another step towards a complete government take over. The other side was convinced that wood stoves were violating their right to clean air and it was the government's responsibility to do something about it. In the end we're left arguing the merits of the Constitution, when all we're talking about is a fireplace.
    As the debate become more and more polarized it slows the already tedious legislative process to a crawl. If every tiny issue becomes a referendum on the definition of democracy, no governing body has a prayer of getting anything done (in Chico they've been debating a Wal-Mart expansion for two years). And as people retreat farther into their political fox holes they leave little room for legitimate debate.  Before an issue is even discussed, the line in the sand is drawn and you are forced to immediately pick a side based on your political allegiance. A vote for health care reform is a vote for big government, higher taxes and gay marriage.  A vote against reform is a vote for a laissez faire legislature, looser gun laws and prayer in schools. The line along the middle has become so razor thin that if you deviate the slightest bit you will fall head long into extremism.
     There are plenty of good reasons to oppose issues like a wood stove restriction, but sticking your head in the sand and saying "I just don't like the government" is not one of them. At the same time you can support health care reform, but don't do it just because "I voted for Obama and I like him." That's being intellectually lazy and failing in your duty to hold your elected officials accountable.
    Though it's easy to forget sometimes, politics is not a sport. You don't need to be on a team and follow that one side blindly. If you do that, we all lose.