Capstone’s Diane Rogers took a few minutes to talk about the increasing side effects of the partial government shutdown.
Follow her on LinkedIn
“We say that we are the rulers of this country, but we do not make a rule of law. We say that we command these people, but we do not lead them to peace or prosperity. We…. quarrel among ourselves and bring death to their door, as if our opinions and thoughts and dreams are worth far more than their safety and health and children.”
-Philippa Gregory, The Lady of the Rivers
How does a book about the start of the War of the Roses relate to our current situation with the shutdown and the debt ceiling, you ask?
A once great Republican party kowtowed to a minority faction, who dreamed of dismantling the government since before they entered office. Even though Constitutional scholars will argue on the scope of the government that was intended by our Founding Fathers – they still thought there should be an operating government. From the Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”
Or better yet, let’s look at the Constitution – the document that so many in Congress hold dear as evidenced by the numerous floor speeches in the House that referenced said document in the Tea Party members vociferous attacks on the Affordable Care Act:
“We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our prosperity…”
The government didn’t provide for our military and their families when they lose a loved one. And while now, a private foundation has stepped up to pay the benefits, – how has this failure eroded the trust between the military and our government?
Women, infants, and children are brushed aside – no more formula from the WIC program – funded at a$7 billion, which serves 9 million mothers and their children nationally who are poor or at risk nutritionally.
The salmonella outbreak in 20 states has sickened 317 people and has caused the Centers for Disease Control to recall some furloughed workers, but the damage is already done.
Small businesses can’t get their loans from the Small Business Administration causing economic hardship for those depending on the loans to open their business.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials are worried as the flu season is upon us, “The blind spots are getting bigger everyday,” said CDC spokeswoman Barbara Reynolds.
These are just a few examples of the havoc wreaked by our government’s utter incapability to work together. I would ask any member of Congress how this shutdown and playing Monopoly with the debt ceiling has contributed to the general welfare or provided for the common defense, ensured domestic tranquility or allowed each and every one of us to pursue our unalienable rights?
But ultimately, I blame the Tea Party and their desire for no government.
And today, while the Senate is pushing forward on talks to settle the shutdown and to raise the debt ceiling so we don’t as a nation, default on our bills, one has to wonder at what cost to the fiber of our democracy.
You’d think by now, we would have evolved, that some things might have changed. After all, our ancestors left England to come and form our more perfect union, and yet our government is shutdown because our leaders believe their opinions and beliefs matter more than the safety and welfare of our country.
Which puts us right back in the Middles Ages.
The views in this blog post represent the viewpoints of individual team members, not Capstone National Partners as a whole.
