Wait! You're Telling Me the Government is Shutdown?!
Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning to find that the government was shutdown. Could anyone imagine such a preposterous scenario? I mean, here is an institution that takes a third of every paycheck, and yet now it has no money to pay itself?
Of course, today wasn't the only day it has been shutdown (and it's not the first day that I happened to notice). From day one I have been telling my wife that this is nothing short of the watery excrement spewing from an inflamed rectal area. I still stand by that assessment. There should never be a reason that the government is shutdown. Never. For no reason other than a hostile takeover from a foreign adversary should the government ever be able to shutter its doors.
Sure, this is not the first time the government has been closed, and like it or not this is probably not going to be the last, but that doesn't make it right, or an acceptable behavior for those that we elect to do a job to participate in. After all, murders happen every day and we are quick to bring down justice on anyone we feel may have perpetrated the crime. And yet, here we are, in day 32 of the longest government shutdown since this country began being run by what we generally refer to as government today. The most frustrating aspect of it all is that there is no end in sight. Which brings me to my next point: why the fuck not? Why can the people that we elect to make the important decisions that ultimately affect every aspect of our life in this country not be able to do, or even feign the ability to do the jobs that we elect them to do. Honestly, this whole situation is just too ridiculous for it to actually be true.
The sad thing is that this shutdown affects everyone, except for those with obscene wealth or in positions of power. And yeah, I realize that the stock market is doing great since the shutdown and thus this dysfunctional administration will claim that they are doing something right and noble with the "economy," at least superficially, but let's be honest with one another and admit that the economy is more than just what some of the privileged and lucky few are able to glean off the backs of hard-working Americans through a glorified system of high-stakes gambling. It is more than just that. Rather, the economy is a function of every minute, microscopic detail that affects how much money people bring home, how much they are able to save, and how much they are willing and able to throw away. I can only speak for myself when I say that I am making more money than I ever have had, and yet, I am about as poor as I have ever been. Riddle me that one. Surely a booming economy means that life should be easy (almost too easy) and I should have more money coming in than I know what to do with. Reality, though, is quite different and I find that despite the economy I am struggling more now than I ever have, but that is the topic of an entirely separate thread.
Back to this shutdown, it is my verdant opinion that every individual who has had a role in either orchestrating, lengthening, or is complicit in this shutdown should be charged, tried and convicted of treason because what those individuals have done and are doing amounts to blatant attack on the American people. I of course refer to the President, his willing aides, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and any other individual from either side of the political sphere that has a hand in this festering pot. Perhaps I should go a step further and brand anyone that is in support of a government shutdown as un-patriots, as people that hate this country and everything it stand for and that wish nothing but the worst for the people living here. I would be hard-pressed to reconsider this opinion, especially when you consider the 800,000 plus federal employees that are without a paycheck coming in, the untold amount of contractors and subcontractors that depend on a working government to make ends meet, the everyday Americans, including the poor and already disenfranchised, that must wake up to the fact that the government that is supposed to protect and serve them can now no longer do so. And let's not forget the fact that forcing workers to come in and do a job without getting paid is a complete violation of the thirteenth amendment which prohibits involuntary servitude.
No matter how one looks at it, there can be no good from the government shutting down in such a manner.
The overwhelming problem that we have here is that we have two sides that are so diametrically opposed to anything the other side has to see and so convinced that their way is the right way that they have become blinded by the reality that there is a simple and easy path forward through what is commonly known as compromise. These two sides are like the stubborn toad that refuses to move from his mud-hole in the road and is ultimately run over by an eighteen-wheeler. It is fine to stand by your convictions, but when doing so threatens the very lives of the people you swore on the Constitution to serve and protect, it is time to reconsider those convictions and put the people first.
Thirty-two days is a ridiculously long time to be without a functioning government. Hopefully, these stubborn toads can take a moment to look at the world outside their mud-holes and realize that this has to come to an end. The people can only handle such dysfunction for so long.
