The war in Iraq. Abortion. Tax cuts. To follow the issues in the lead-up to next month’s elections is to despair that Americans can ever agree on everything. At the same time, polls suggest Americans are fed up with partisanship and are looking for the leaders and issues that can restore a sense of shared national purpose.

Such an issue does exist, however, if only politicians would look beyond the next election, and the next. Americans have a seemingly unquenchable thirst for oil pumped and sold by countries with political agendas opposed to our own. As oil reserves become depleted, the threat to the environment, our economy, and national security only grows worse. This isn’t a Republican or Democratic fear, and it doesn’t require a Republican or Democratic solution. Rather, it demands a series of actions and changes on the part of Americans of all political stripes who have it in their power to reduce our demand for foreign oil.

Weaning America off its oil addiction depends on promoting a series of concrete steps. Legislation that would strengthen Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards would increase incentives for manufacturers to produce smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. Supporting greater use of public transportation would reduce oil consumption. Promoting the use of hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels would have the added benefit of reducing noxious emissions that foul the air. Admittedly, one frequently mentioned measure — increasing taxes on gasoline — is politically unpopular, to say the least, but needs to remain on the to-do list of any country serious about national security.

Many of these actions are outlined in a recently updated report by the American Jewish Committee called “Over a Barrel.” AJC has put energy independence near the top of its agenda. The impulse is tied into its mission of Jewish self-defense, no doubt. But it also taps reserves of Jewish values, about protecting the earth and promoting the health of all creatures. Their efforts combine realpolitik with an almost spiritual idealism — the very definition of a “Jewish approach.”

If that approach provides a model for national reconciliation, so be it. It wouldn’t be the first time a Jewish idea gave fuel to global change.