Driving Lesson

 Another day of government shutdown. 

Another day of Congress taking a day off. 

Another day of holding the party line. 

So let's take a moment to consider what "public service" really means. The online dictionary tells me it means: a service rendered in the public interest. Examples given were Health, Public Safety, Infrastructure, and Education. I take some great solace in that last one. As a teacher, I figure I'm performing a public service just about every day, which means I can periodically let requests for volunteerism slide of my teacher duck's back and wait for the next school day to roll around for me to be fully immersed in that public service thing. 

Meanwhile, a group of so-called "public servants" who got their job not just by volunteering but because they won an election are currently avoiding their duty. This puts the rest of us in the less than advantageous spot of having to do without many of those other public services not covered by Congress' Health Plan. The last time this came up, I remember that not only does Congress continue to get paid when the government shuts down, but their rather impressive insurance coverage doesn't lapse either. 

I bring this up because there are a whole lot of people who are currently going without paychecks or other benefits while these "public servants" hash this out. Meanwhile, the driver of this clown car is threatening not to kick those whose job it is to make the government run out, but the folks who keep things safe, build roads and provide for our health. 

Again: park rangers not Representatives. air traffic controllers, not Senators. And for sure not the aforementioned clown driving the car. All the public servants who are actually supplying service to their community are the ones being squeezed. 

Why? Because those in power chose not to use their power for good. Obfuscation and divisiveness are the tools of the trade for the ones at the top. Anyone can drive the clown car into the wall. It takes a really clever clown to avoid it.