“Sooner or later you figure out that pragmatism and compromise are principles in a democracy. It’s not selling out your convictions.” This, according to former President Bill Clinton in a major speech several days ago.
President Clinton is wrong. Pragmatism means precisely what he says it does not mean. Pragmatism means denying or evading your convictions in favor of the expediency of the moment. It means suspending, for a moment or a day or a year, your knowledge that you stand for something, or believe in something, and then, once betraying it, expecting to have that same principle to come home to again.
President Clinton’s confusion stems from the obvious fact that he never displayed integrity in office and clearly is no different now. Most, if not absolutely all, of today’s politicians sway from their principles (right or wrong principles not the point) in favor of the polls. President Clinton, who was famous for–among other things–bombing Iraq on the night of his impeachment vote, was particularly glaring for his willful refusal to consider any principles of any kind at any moment, other than the “principle” of his own craving for power. (Wait until you see his wife in the Oval Office, if she makes it; you haven’t seen anything yet, in this department).
If you treat friends or loved ones badly–lying to them, betraying them, or outright abandoning them–they will, if they have any credibility and worth at all, be done with you. The same is true with principles. If your principles are true and worth anything at all, you betray them at your peril. This is true whether we’re talking politics, world affairs, or your own private business or family. Treat your principles well, and–if they’re valid principles–they’ll serve you well. Abandon them and you will end up–well, like President Clinton.