Two Things on the Government Shutdown

I don't particularly have a lot to say on this topic in general, but I have two very specific things I want to state, and they are much more directed at the people who talk about the government shutdown than the people who initiated it.

Basically, there are two kinds of people I can't stand when it comes to this entire pile of... government... stuff...

People Who Take Sides Without Taking Blame

I'm sure you're all familiar with the many variations of the phrase that basically boils down to 'we like to pretend children mean more than what they say because it makes us feel good about ourselves and humanity in general.'

To take a leaf from that book, any ridiculously drunk traditional frat boy would take one look at this entire debacle and tell you exactly what was happening - a bunch of people in Washington have whipped 'em out and are measuring them.

Yes, even Hillary.

Fact is, people, you can't be stubborn without someone to disagree with. There are sides in this thing, but the idea that any side is completely to blame is just not a correct one. Every politician is to blame. Every person who elected those politicians shares some small portion of the blame. Every person who failed to help elect different politicians? They're to blame too.

But the people in all of this I feel are most to blame here - outside of those directly perpetuating the issue, of course - are those who sit down, take a side, and then refuse to take responsibility for the actions of their side.

To all of you who are like that, I want you to please take a look at what you're doing. You are driving a wedge between people. You are creating tensions and problems in a time that is currently pretty full of tensions and problems all by itself. You are making an essentially partisan problem even more partisan in nature.

And you're doing it all because a bunch of people we all put in office can't keep it in their pants.

People Who Think This Is A Good Thing

These people aren't quite as bad as the previous category. Hence, of course, they get second billing.

That being said, they still manage to piss me off.

I'm sure you've met one of them, too. One of those people who thinks that shutting down the government for good - or even for a little while - would lead to some glorious rebirth in which many problems would be fixed? Or maybe just one of those people who thinks that government is bad and any reduction in government power is good for everyone?

Yeah. I hate those guys.

Now, for those of you who don't know, I am not always the first person to speak out when the government sticks its nose where it doesn't belong. Not, of course, because I agree. It's because I tend to think before I open my mouth.

And, of course, it's my opinion that a complete cessation of government activity has the potential to lead to some benefits in the long-run.

So why do these people piss me off so much?

Because the short-run costs of cessation are too damn high. People right now rely on the government for all sorts of things - sometimes food, sometimes access to healthcare, sometimes a salary. Many of those people are going to suffer, many of them will suffer greatly, and that suffering will continue for a good long while if the government doesn't get its act together.

Now. You can argue all you want about whether or not people should rely on the government for things. You can say that our freedoms will be increased while the government is asleep. You can even say that people deserve to go hungry for having taken up so many undeserved resources from others.

People have said all of that, and will continue to do so.

I, however, find it morally reprehensible to push an ideology at the expense of human suffering. To be fair, a little bit is okay. Maybe even a lot, if it is truly deserved. But when you have things like WIC losing funding - a service which is used to feed people, if you don't know - that is not okay. It is not okay, and it will not become okay just because of some empty words and empty promises, whatever they happen to be about.


And now I'm done. That was a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be, and now I feel much better. Time for a drink!