By James Fieseher MD

Doctors have known for centuries that in large doses, certain poisons can kill, but in moderate doses they can cure. Famous examples include digitalis which for centuries was a lifesaving heart medication, and curare, a paralytic that is the main ingredient in Botox. The same principle is true if you want to heal a politically divided nation. Extreme politics is further dividing us and killing our democracy, whereas moderation and compromise can bring us together.

Moderation isn’t sexy or easy. In today’s media market, extremists and their controversies make the headlines.

Take immigration for example.

America needs immigrants. Our country is built on it. But too many immigrants coming in all at once can overwhelm our resources and force hard-working citizens to compete with migrants willing to do the same work for lower wages. But too few immigrants mean there aren’t enough workers to support manufacturing jobs and other businesses, causing those businesses to close or move to other countries causing a loss of American jobs. In other words, America benefits from immigration, if regulated properly.

Then there’s the economy.

The Biden administration inherited an economy reeling from recession and the devastation left from the COVID pandemic and the response from the previous administration.The Biden-Harris response was to stimulate the economy through federal spending, which caused a temporary spike in inflation, but successfully pulled the country out of a possible depression using time-tested economic policies in moderate doses. In fact, out of all industrialized nations, the US through the Biden-Harris administration, had the most successful economic recovery from the pandemic, despite inheriting the highest pandemic death rate.

Crime in the US is way down.

That’s thanks to a combination of better-paying jobs for Americans living close to the poverty level while moderating some of the more extreme police tactics that have traditionally pitted our law enforcement providers against economically disadvantaged communities.

Our national security has improved.

How? We have rebuilt closer relationships with our allies. We are better equipped to stand up to the rise in authoritarian regimes and militant groups waging war in eastern Europe and the Middle East when we secure relationships with other democracies. Coddling dictators only makes them stronger. By standing strong with other democracies and allies, we can prevent today’s conflicts from developing into even larger, more expensive and more devastating catastrophes in the future. Putting America first doesn’t mean putting America alone.

Kamala Harris brings the best of the Biden Administration to her campaign while making the necessary course corrections that every administration makes in a second term.

She has made unity and moderation pillars of her platform.

Compromise and political moderation are tough sells, but they’re the cures that America needs to unite the country. In a democracy as large as ours, there are always going to be many differences of opinion. That is a strength, not a weakness. The Harris-Walz team is all about working from the middle. It’s what America is all about.