In an effort to strike down the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) (we put the common name next to the legal one in parenthesis because many don’t know they’re one and the same), Republicans have refused to allow the passage of a new federal budget. The logic is: Stopping everything else so that Democrats are forced to rethink Obamacare is worth a temporary shutdown of nonessential government payments.
But despite the “In the World” entry on page 4, there is no top news story this week. Other outlets can feign surprise at the development of a government shutdown, but the truth is behind the rhetoric. There is nothing that should be a shock about this fiasco because it is just another installment in a series of congressional sessions that do not impress us.
We have grown accustomed to lackluster performances on behalf of hundreds of national leaders. The parties will not agree. In an age where the people are used to finding answers instantly at their fingertips, the deadlock and mudslinging seems archaic. Can our generation bear to live under this form of government? Perhaps we are ideologically closer to a form of anarchy than the circus performers on Capitol Hill realize.
The system is broken, but the blame is not to be set on one group. Many news outlets will have the public believe that Republicanism is the root of government blockage. Many outlets will assert that Obama’s and Democrat goals are not in the best interest of our nation. The truth is, there are always going to be disagreements. The circus performers and propaganda outlets are only going to be able to do what they do because the product is bought in to. Congress shut down the government because they can and everyone who thinks they’re hilarious on our Facebook and Twitter feeds will joke about it without actually knowing how to solve the problem.
At Fairfield, we are taught to educate the whole person. As a body, America has failed at knowing itself entirely and truthfully. Can the people responsible for putting congressmen on The Hill articulate in simple terms the pros and cons of the thousands of pages that make up the Affordable Care Act? Not at this moment. In this way, it’s almost like our true government has been off for a long time already.
We just hope our passports can get renewed before Spring Break.
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