Two Ideas at Once? Three, Even?

How hard is it to consider more than one idea at a time? Apparently, very hard.

The question came to me as I struggled to understand a minivan’s bumper sticker: “My Soldier Defends Freedom for Your Honor Student.” A National Guard emblem on the same vehicle told me the owner’s soldier was probably in that branch of the service, so she or he may well be among the many National Guard soldiers deployed abroad. I honor his or her commitment and dedication.

But why does honoring my soldier require challenging someone else’s honor student? I have known soldiers smart enough to be very honored students. And many honor students become very fine solders. History is full of men and women who were, and are, both. And why is “defending freedom” something to be done at the end of a gun and not with the point of a pencil? And isn’t freedom more likely to be found in the realm of ideas than on the battlefield?

Unfortunately our nation is unable to think about more than one thing at a time, especially when it comes to politics. Republicans are very good at thinking about reducing taxes and cutting spending, while Democrats excel at thinking about raising taxes (but only on the 1% among us) and maintaining or increasing spending. Can any one person think about both - indeed all - of the budgetary options we need to consider? Yes, but he or she is apparently not in office or running for office. Something about the need to win elections freezes the brain of the political animal so it can think only one think at a time.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were representative of that brave group of courageous soldiers and honor scholars who got our nation off to a sound start. I doubt they wasted much time wondering whose efforts were more important to the securing of our freedom. Neither should we.