The Big Shutdown

Today we are waiting breathlessly for the government to shutdown. We’ve been told it's going to happen at 12:01am Tuesday morning so the countdown has begun. The media pundits have House and Senate leaders pointing fingers at each other for this travesty and everyone is pointing fingers at the president. No one wants to take the blame for this mess but everyone is wrong. With the exception of children and the homeless, we are all to blame.

I know what you’re thinking. You‘re wondering how I have the gall to say that you and the rest of us in America are responsible for this debacle. I say it because I believe it to be true and I’m willing to call everybody including myself on it.

The legislature and the president screwed around with the money needed to run our government by blatantly misusing funds in our name. They gave tax breaks to corporation and gave corporations the same rights as individuals all within our view. They waged war under the guise of national security and unashamedly gave themselves raises, pension increases and access to healthcare the rest of us would lose an arm for all while proclaiming they are working to make government better for us.

What were we doing while all this transpired? We were busy watching the Kardashians or the Housewives or never-ending sports competitions. We were tweeting and sitting for hours conversing on Facebook. We were acting as though we were doing God’s work by not engaging in politics. We were condemning workers for wanting an increase in the minimum wage while Corporate CEO’s make millions of dollars with the help of the government. We were busy telling ourselves one person can’t make a difference. We were doing everything but what we should have been doing. We should have been paying attention. And we should have been objecting to everything the government has been doing in our name.

Like some of you, I believed in the fallacy that I was actually doing something. I’ve signed any number of email petitions. I’ve walked a picket line or two. I attended rallies in support of workers. I’ve gone to conferences and even facilitated an occasional workshop on worker rights. I’ve made some calls to my congressman. I’ve written essay admonishing those who have acted improperly. I’ve done what I thought I could do and patted myself on the back for my activism. But I was wrong. I have been blind to the real ills of our government. And because of my unwillingness to see what was going on, I have contributed to the upcoming fiasco.

So as we sit back and wait to see what’s going to happen as the government races towards shutdown, what should we do? The legislature certainly doesn’t seem to have a clue. They don’t have to worry really. Their pay and benefits will continue. The folks looking for their Social Security checks are worried. The war machine will continue but the troops may not receive their pay. The stock market is threatening to close but corporations are still making money from those lucrative government contracts. So the only people who are losing in this shutdown are us, the “average American.”

My harangue is over. My thoughts go to the questions we need to ask and answer. What do we do now? How do we do what needs to be done? Can we make things better? Can we fix things so this won’t happen again? Where do we go from here? Can I affect change?

I wish I had the answers to all these questions but I don’t. I do, however, have suggestions.

What do we do now? We start paying attention. We need to begin vetting our elected officials. We need to look at how they vote and ask them why they voted that way. We need to make them accountable for every action they make and every dime they spend. We need to remember that we have the power, not them. And then we need to start acting like it.

If we think we’ve reached bottom, we’re mistaken. Yes, we are in dire straits but things could get worse. It is up to us to make sure it doesn’t. Being vigilant is not merely being attentive to our government but being attentive to what we do as a nation. We must insist that everyone have healthcare. We need to make sure everyone is fed, clothed and housed. We must do for others nothing less than we would do for ourselves. If we could all do just that, we can stand up to the bad times. By doing so, we do what needs to be done and we make things better for everyone. There must be parity. The rich and the corporations must pay their fare share. The government shutdown doesn’t seem to worry any of them because they are unaffected by the ebb and flow of government processes. They will not miss a meal. They have access to great healthcare. Their mortgages won’t be affected if FHA or Fannie Mae stops. Gas prices don’t bother their wallets. They will continue on as though nothing has happened because for them, nothing has. This has to change and change quickly if we are to make sure we don't repeat our mistakes.

We have to find those family members and friends who keep saying one person can’t make a difference and show them otherwise. All of us know of the individuals who made a difference because they said enough. People like Marian Edelman-Wright who changed the lives of children by making them front and center in our collective consciousness. Ralph Nader who changed what information is imparted to us as consumers. Florence Nightingale who revolutionized patient care. Jonas Salk who created the polio vaccine is another. These are just a few of the lesser known people who have changed the world. There are so many more people who changed the way we think, feel, look and act more famous than those mentioned. People like Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King and Oprah Winfrey are just some of the well known individuals who have affected change in our world. All of them are individuals who decided they could make a change.

Finally we must remember that there is no them or they. There is only us. We are the United States of America not the Republic of Individuals Living Without Consequence. There are definite consequences in living like an island onto oneself. We are reaping the benefits of that view and I, for one, am surprised this has not happened sooner.

CNN.com declared today that “IT IS ABOUT YOU!” I beg to differ. It’s not about you. It’s about us and what we are prepared to do.

I’m ready. Are you?