Most of you know that while you see me at work in Baltimore, I live inside the Washington, D.C. beltway. As a result I felt the impact of the federal government shutdown in a number of very concrete ways. To begin with, my wife Maureen was furloughed. An analyst for the Library of Congress, she was sent home as “non-essential.”
In addition, my yoga studio was suddenly very crowded. Many public servants took advantage of the $10 special for furloughed federal workers offered by Willow Street Yoga – a nice gesture, for sure, but my yoga peace-of-mind was disturbed by having mats so close that limbs collided through various flows and postures. My son, a rock-climbing instructor, has lost business due to the closure of local cliffs on federal land by the Potomac River. My sister-in-law, who works for a firm with government contracts, is facing potential cuts in salary and health insurance.
We are some of the luckier ones, however, fortunate enough to probably ride out the shutdown. Others, more dependent on weekly paychecks and government services are really feeling the pinch. Add to all this the near constant “blame game” broadcast by the media, each party pointing fingers while the world snickers at this “city upon a hill” blundering itself into oblivion, and, well, let’s just say, it wasn’t a great week.
To get some relief from all this, my wife Maureen and I went to see the Capitol Steps, a musical satire troupe that proudly puts the mock back into democracy. It came as a welcome relief from the travesty that was unfolding daily under the dome. Laughing at the parodies of our elected leaders felt like a dose of sweet, playful revenge.
A writer with the Capital Steps, Elaina Newport, was puzzled when hearing that “non-essential personnel” were sent home. She asks, “So why is Congress still here?” The Executive Branch was not spared, one cast member pointing out that, “Joe Biden was really bummed that the White House tours were canceled; now he’ll never get into the West Wing.” One of my favorite skits had Paul Ryan leading a rendition of the Beach Boys classic “Fun, Fun, Fun” as Tea Party tune with the chorus “De-fund, Fund, Fund till Congress takes Obamacare away.”
Over the past week I have like many of you also found relief from the Daily Show, such as when Jon Stewart suggested that, “If Obama can negotiate with Iran, maybe he’s not the problem.” Then what is the problem? Is there a sincere battle going on over political philosophy? Have our public servants have lost their minds? Or is this a symptom of a disease running through our government?
I worried that it may be the latter on October 8th when I joined a campaign finance reform protest in front to the Supreme Court. Member Bernie Brown and I ran into one of BES’s newer members, Angad Singh who was with others from Get Money Out – Maryland. Like many in the crowd, they brought signs and props, including a ballot box overflowing with fake dollar bills and a sign reading, “Big Money Out, Voters In.”
As I listened to speeches in front of the court, my back turned to the Capitol, the irony was clear. Here we all were at the heart of a government that had just stopped funding itself, while inside the Court chambers a case was being heard that just might open the tap for private funding of campaigns by private business interests. Dollars for our democracy, no! Cash for campaigns, sure!
A key problem is that money makes people lose their perspective. Greed is a powerful drug that can blind people to stewardship, duty, and civic pride. No longer is the trust of the public the most treasured asset of our democracy. It seems to be reduced to the bottom line. Then why is the federal government seemingly unable to stay up and running. If moneyed interests are in control, shouldn’t they demand that the trains keep running on time? Supposedly millions of dollars are being lost left and right due to the shutdown.
This is where the extreme Tea Party folks come in, I am afraid. Well, if you believe that government is the problem, and you are the government, then it is relatively easy to prove yourself correct: just BE the problem. Those who want to prove that the federal government is incompetent just have to get into the federal government and BE incompetent. Is that what has happened???
I hope we find our way out of this mess. Perhaps we need to focus on promoting more public participation in the process. Money pouring into politics doesn’t seem to have helped matters much, so maybe closer attention is needed. If a small group of extremists can bring our government to our knees, maybe we need more people invested in the process. Maybe local groups such as Get Money Out – Maryland can help us. There is such a thing as “people power,” if we are bold enough to wield it. As one sign read on the steps of the Supreme Court, ”If the 99% vote, the 1% won’t matter.” And, if the 99% vote, maybe our government will stay open for the people’s business!
