So I saw on FB that there is a strong possibility (over 52% according to NPR) that our nation’s government may shut down.
My very first reaction to reading the headline was… hmmmm…
I felt curious about the possibilities of life without government. At first, I experienced a cool sense of liberation when I thought about it. Hmmmm… does that mean no more taxes???! YIPPPPEEEEEEEEEE! No one telling anyone who they can and cannot marry???
Then I began thinking about all the many functions of the government, how much they control, how much they have their hands on. And then I felt scared.
Then, after a moment of sheer terror, I felt really sad. Sad that it may shut down because the boys and girls wearing the suits in DC and sitting in the seats of national control are not able to agree upon ANYTHING. It is a sad reflection about the state of our nation: we cannot agree on ANYTHING. Lawsuits are out of control because of this. People are dying because of this. People’s rights are being denied because of this. It seems we simply cannot agree to disagree and allow one another to BE. I understand that the Republicans and the Democrats HAVE to make decisions and that “agree to disagree” doesn’t work in Congress. However, in the general population, it could.
Is this a media scare? Is this to rile up the people to some sort of action? Is this meant to send us up in arms?
I don’t know. However, I do know that reading some of the articles out there is absolutely terrifying. If no decision is reached and the government does, indeed, shut down, it will touch every aspect of life. One of the articles I read stated that the IRS will shut down and those who are awaiting refund checks won’t get them. It also said that if the government stays shut down for longer than a week then our military troops will have to start working without pay. It will stop the funds for student loans. Museums and zoos will shut down. And the list goes on.
I’m not sure where I’m going with this. I just felt the need to write because the myriad of emotions I’m experiencing have my body and head swimming. I feel scared. I feel sad. I feel angry. And… again, I feel scared. The things that I’ve taken for granted are possibly going to crumble out from underneath me. I don’t like that feeling.
