It's Not That I Don't Care...

You may have noticed the complete absence of posts regarding the "shutdown" of the United States government. I wasn't sure what to make of "all that". Today I break my silence on this topic. Probably because of what I read here. (Proof is a smart guy, he reads my stuff, but don't hold that against him.)

The way I figure it, we have a bunch of people in Washington who (it appears to me) are unwilling to do their jobs. And they work for us. The American people. When's the last time this country had an actual, real-life, passed by the Congress and signed into law by the President, budget. Been a while hasn't it?

All I hear about is what seems to be a never ending series of "continuing resolutions". Stop gap measures and temporary finding bills. Bunch of smoke and mirrors if you ask me.

It also seems that the government is completely incapable of doing anything that makes any sense whatsoever to the common man and woman. A number of my colleagues seem to think that they "know" how Washington "works". But after trying to get them to explain it to me, it turns out they don't understand it either.

Now I've read the Constitution. While the language is somewhat archaic, it's still understandable and pretty straightforward. At least that's how it seems to me. And this document is much easier to read than some of Shakespeare's work. Or the King James Bible. Both being things I had to be somewhat familiar with when I was a youth in school.

(Note to those who may be aghast at the thought of American boys studying the Bible in school. No, that was not the case. But Mom and Dad did insist I go to church. Where we did study the Bible. Those were the old days. How's this modern crap working for you? Oh, we DID do a morning prayer everyday. And the Pledge of Allegiance. If you weren't Christian, you didn't have to do the prayer. No one made a stink about it.)

I am a religious man, make no mistake about that. But I don't expect others to kowtow to my beliefs. I'm sure they have their own. And they're welcome to them. Just don't try to shove them down my throat.

Much of what passes for government over the past couple of decades (perhaps longer) is some people shoving stuff down other people's throats. When did we get so many government organizations running around, making rules and forcing us to do things a particular way? I don't recall reading about many of these organizations in my history classes.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms? When were those guys founded? Why? Do we really need them? How about the Department of Education? Really? How's that working out?

It seems that every time some fool in Washington (or a state capital) decides we need something to control something, the situation gets worse. How many kids growing up these days want to study math and science? I've heard that the answer is "Not many."

Why?

Oh, right, that stuff is hard. You have to work at it. Heaven forbid that little Johnny or young Melissa have to actually (gulp) learn something useful. Something with which they can actually support themselves. Shouldn't we all be able to get an advanced degree in 15th Century French literature and sit around the coffee shop discussing the merits of one author over another? I mean whoa, actually get our hands dirty doing real work? Oh, the humanity?

(For the record, people with real skills, like being able to build something or fix something impress the Hell out of me. I have the utmost respect for them. I'd rather sit down and chat with my neighbor the mechanic than some elitist a-hole. Ditto the folks who make my Dunkin Donuts coffee in the morning. Solid people, salt of the earth as we used to say.)

I'm not sure if I really have a point to make here. Just that I'm fed up. I pay my taxes, every penny required by law. I do my own, I don't look for ways to get out of paying taxes. While I think they're a tad on the high side, as long as I get value for my dollar, I don't mind. Having a job and paying taxes was expected of a citizen, at least that's what I was taught. Back in the day.

Oh, by the way, all those parks and monuments that the a$$holes in DC are "closing"? Let's be clear about something. Those are public lands, owned by the people* of the United States, NOT by the goddamned bureaucrats and politicians in Washington DC (or elsewhere for that matter). Not by a long shot.

Hey, politicians!

That's right...

Get. Off. My. Lawn.

* When I say people, I mean citizens.