EDITOR’S NOTE: Margaret Dickson was a Democratic representative from Cumberland County in the N.C. House from 2003 through 2010 and in the N.C. Senate from 2010 through 2011.
A decade ago the United States experienced a financial “correction” that eventually turned into the Great Recession. It affected not only our own economy but rippled across many of the world’s other developed economies. Economists continue to argue about its causes — one of which was surely the unbridled bundling and selling of mortgages destined for default — and its effects including getting the Millennial generation off to a delayed and perhaps crippled start.
Ten years later, the economy has recovered—some would even say boomed. Psychic scars remain, however personal and private they may be, but publicly our economy is on a roll.
What we need now is a political correction.
American politics has always been rough and tumble, not for shrinking violets or the faint of heart. The last decade, though, has brought partisan division unlike any in our history. Talking heads chat endlessly about the very real decline in civility among leaders at all levels of government. What we hear about less often are changes in the unspoken rules of government through which one branch respects and honors the work and responsibilities of other branches.
Americans are witnessing the confirmation hearings of U.S Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh — a political spectacle if ever there were one. Senators chewed each other out on live television—perhaps because of…
