Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Floccinaucinihilipilification

Okay, honestly, if the government shut down, would anyone notice? Probably not for a while, anyway. The relative inaction by the one hundred and thirteenth Congress of the United States would be key to this lack of interest. It is the fussing and blustering that has taken place on Capitol Hill has amounted to this: a standoff with Republicans looking to defund the Affordable Care Act while the Democrats are trying to maintain their collective dignity and not whine about it. It's yet another hostage crisis where the prisoners are sitting at home, wondering what all the fuss is about.
Interestingly, public opinion shows that as unpopular as Obamacare seems to be, a government shutdown is even less popular. All those government programs, including the Affordable Care Act, would screech to a halt. If, for example, you were a veteran and you were waiting for your education benefits or a disability check, how would you distinguish the shutdown delay from the standard operating procedural delay? It's our government in action. Pardon me: inaction.
This has become our legacy of lethargy. Rather than come together and generate common sense answers to problems that plague the country as a whole, the United States government seems to have taken on partisan rhetoric as their favored form of discourse. Are there problems with the Affordable Care Act? You bet there are. Does it make sense to turn back the clock and allow health care to be limited to those who can afford to have that first born child first in order to pay for all future insurance premiums? Does it make sense to keep pushing forward with a plan that even the party that supports it can't do it with a straight face?
There I go, trying to make sense of it again. That could be because I'm married to a lady who is a big fan of the "do-over." Okay, so that piece of legislation didn't come out exactly right the first time. Can we get a do-over? Go ahead and laugh, but it makes a whole lot more sense than a do-nothing.

1 comment:

Kristen Caven said...

Ugh, I don't even want to say "Our Government" anymore because they're not ours. They're bought and sold by large corporations with special interests and very few in Congress have their eye on the big picture.

My, that's a long word. I wouldn't want to do that over.