The Government WHAT??

Politics. I’ve never written about them here before, but today (parts of) our government shut down. I have opinions about this fiasco, but because they are not clearly thought out, I won’t interject them into the fray. I’m going to comment on something that I noticed to today on Facebook from the first 6:30 am comment “How come the social networks aren’t lighting up about this?” through the wordy mish mash appearing all over the place this evening.

I contributed my share, but it was small and cryptic enough that one could assume I was writing about whatever one wanted to assume…  I will say that I believe we need to take care of each other and that we will almost always gravitate towards greed and self interest before looking out for the interests of others. (The theological reasoning behind that, I will not get into.) I believe government, while quite imperfect, is one avenue that God has established to assist us in looking past ourselves to the needs of others. There is a cost to life and a cost to caring for the less fortunate. We collectively bear those costs.  

More stunning were the diverse opinions and comments showing up on Facebook (I am not a #twit yet…) I am going to post a few of the ones that arrived on my feed today. I have very interesting friends and therefore quite an array of opinions appeared!!! The common denominator among the comments I am choosing to post is that all of these friends profess faith in Christ.  Jesus gets bashed around in the world of politics and I dare say, he doesn’t vote Republican or Democrat… nor drink tea or beer. He is, however, living and active in our imperfect world working through the imperfect lives of imperfect citizens. And if one professes to have perfect clarity about ‘what would Jesus do?’ one is sorely mistaken.

Take for instance, this sort of diversity on Government Shut Down Day One from the people of God:

 “Saw this bumper sticker while leaving work, "I love Obamacare" ... Wonder if they will be one of the employees who will loose their job because of the projected 330 million budget deficit that obamacare will soon cause the clinic...”  Ohio

“Reading BONHOEFFER; pastor, martyr, prophet, spy. Where is this faith today?” Colorado

“I'm sorry - but I must say this: We have a legislative process in the United States. WHEN both Houses of Congress pass a bill - in this case The Affordable Health Care - WHEN the Supreme Court - under challenge -after the fact - declares it Constitutional - WHEN a President wins a convincing re-election - after the bill has been passed - and when his opponent made AHCA a key criticism of his failed campaign - you do not destroy the whole economy by shutting down the Government to change a law you don't like! This is exactly what is playing out in Washington today. What the GOP is doing in NOT illegal - but it IS unethical.” Colorado

“I will not patronize any business that alters worker hours to keep from adhering to the Affordable Care Act. If that business is so close to the bone that that is the profit margin, then they are not viable in the first place. I certainly would not invest or hold stock in any such company.” Washington 

“Coffees and lots of it is needed to improve the day.”(--small blog Coffee Break) Washington

“I am ashamed of the government shutdown that resulted from Congress' inaction last night. Congress is so polarized that they cannot reconcile their differences and meet on middle ground. Wake up, Republicans & Democrats! This polarization is unsustainable and will not be tolerated among the American people as you can see by the uproar today. Hundreds of thousands of people are suffering furloughs because of your inability to pass a crucial bill. And might I add, it's absolutely ridiculous that the same Members of Congress that caused the government to shutdown will still receive their paychecks!” Texas

“Perhaps the congressmen (red & blue) should be deemed non-essential.” Ohio

 “This is not easy. We all need to read both sides. We need change, just not sure this change.” California

“Employers are using "obamacare" as an excuse to not do the right thing by their workers. Shameful and greedy.” Ohio

That’s all really.  We are entitled to our opinions, of course... I was just marveling at the diversity among my very small group of friends, all who possess a fundmentally similar worldview.

Lastly, I will give my son credit for posting the best comment to come across my feed today, and leave you with this: “Have we tried turning our government off and back on again?”