Compromise

People seem to have lost any understanding of compromise. (For Exhibit A, see: the mess in Washington.) Compromise does not mean giving in so the other side will stop attacking you. Compromise does not mean simply taking pieces from either side and trying to cobble together something that won't be too offensive .
Compromise should be a third option. Too often people will get so adamant that they are unable to look around for an alternative to one way or the other. Sometimes both sides are aware of another possibility sitting there in plain sight, but they get so afraid of losing or the other winning  that they assiduously ignore the elephant in the room.
Compromise means looking beyond the current offerings and that means considering even the most repugnant ideas. (Sacred cows, I am told, make good hamburger!) Only when we can let go of that death grip we have on our point of view will we find new ways of considering things.
This is not meant to suggest it will be easy. It can be very painful, but it should be painful for all concerned. But it would be a different sort of pain from that of compromise by concession, mistaking this for a win-lose situation.