I wrote recently in this space about my aspiration that political leaders from Salem to Washington, D.C. would find what I call the “smart middle” to solve pressing public policy problems.

That goal seems ever more remote as elected leaders continually run for office in what has been called a permanent campaign. They appear to be focused on putting their opponents or members of another political party on the defensive by name calling and offensive mailers or social media messages.

And, frankly, the loss of real politics is one reason why I hung up my shingle as a lobbyist after more than 40 years in the business – not the only reason and not the major reason (my age factors into the equation), but still one reason.

But this different thought has been coursing through my brain lately: One of the reasons that politicians have so much trouble finding the smart middle is that they are lot like us. We have the same trouble.

In our everyday work or social life, rather than working with others, many of us seek to work our will. We want what we want when we want it without working to understand another’s point of view.

We want to advance our own cause – our own point of view and, to those who may disagree with us, we say, in effect, forget, I want my own way.

As I write this, my own goal is to be open to middle ground in all of my relationships. If, on occasion, I hold a view on the basis of some moral or strongly held principle, then I won’t compromise. But, if I hold a view just because I hold a view, then there is ample reason to find the smart middle.

If we did this more in our everyday lives, then it would be more logical for us to expect our politicians to do the same – to find the smart middle, which, after all, is supposed to be the definition of politics, the art of compromise.