On Politics

Thomas Jefferson - Wrote The Declaration of Independance

As I close my eyes and drift away to a land where there is love, health, peace, and blessings. I wanted to take the time to think and reflect.

     So it seems as though the shutdown has come to a partial end, with conditions set by the President that are to be reviewed on February 15th, 2019. As is the State if the Union address (SOTU) that has finally been scheduled to take place. Whilst of course throughout the history of American Presidents, there have been years where the SOTU did not take place, and also as Pelosi suggested; instances where these took place in written form. Nevertheless, after the Jeffersonian type of letter exchanges, between the President and Nancy Pelosi, the SOTU address is scheduled on February 5th, 2019. The commotion was an additive, as it deterred from the actual effects that have occurred from a Government shutdown. Affecting the poor, low-income populations, to the National Parks, where there might even be permanent damages, to the most treasured lands such as: Yellow Stone National park. 

    For a President who has been tweeting about climate change lately, we can wonder where his thoughts are positioned with regards to his actions, and resulting effects upon American lands. Ironically the Government shutdown is a good example of how human actions have socially constructed environmental damages. Revealing that leaders do possess a certain amount of control, when we think about the human production of climate change. This is one example, we can also think about the human effects, especially wage earners who rely on their work for survival. Many of the effects will not disappear because there is an announcement that the shutdown has ended. The effects will take time to heal. There will be a period for recovery, even after official resolutions have been negotiated. 

     But here we are once again back to the original reasoning of why the Government shutdown took place anyway -  The wall, and the funding demands for a border wall. We could say that this demand has really taken the focus off many other important political issues such as: Immigration reform. Or foreign interests such as: the Syria and Afghanistan troop withdrawals and its effects, or the starvation taking place in Yemen. We are inclined to wonder why the tactic of demanding a wall, funding for a wall, and a Government shutdown has been used here. When politicians, the President and his administration all know how this has abruptly impacted the economic health, and prosperity of a nation. Which leads me to think about human nature itself.

     Sometimes in life we might not be able to get what we want. But to get what we want we should not intentionally, use the power we possess to hurt and harm. On the flip side, we can think: what if we gave the President exactly what he wants? Let him have his way? But then again I am reminded - a decision as this should be made as a collective decision. One man, in this case President Trump used his power to manipulate the senate, the public, just so he could reveal and exert the power he possesses, with his title of the President. A demand that makes us think if it was presidential or not, let alone the millions of dollars that are in demand for the border wall. If you ask me it is really unfortunate that, Washington shenanigans have removed the focus on the important issues that matter and require attention, some of which I have mentioned in this writing.

Further Reading:

*NY Times - Government Shutdown Timeline: See How the Effects Are Piling Up

*National Geographic - National parks face years of damage from government shutdown

My thoughts to share with love & kindness! :) 

Notes: These thoughts were originally hand-written on January 31st, 2019.
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