Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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So, picture this scene. Moses descends from the mountain, tablets in hand. The Israelites in the valley anxiously await the latest news from their leader. Moses surveys the bustling throng, lifts his right arm for silence, and speaks in magisterial tones.

“The good news is, I got him down to 10. The bad news is, adultery is still in.”

I’ll bet you didn’t realize that this heretofore little-known Decalogue compromise sealed the deal. …

This article is about the importance of forging compromises. I’m a great believer in them and an active practitioner of the craft. I would have thought that put me on the side of the angels—but when you read the copious stream of fire-breathing vituperation in the daily press, when you watch those extremist yokels hijacking opinion shows on the tube, when you witness the legislative paralysis that results from our elected officials hewing to no-yield political positions—to say nothing of the abject failure to reach satisfactory resolutions of international disputes—the receptivity to compromise appears to be in short supply nowadays.