Government Shutdown Reveals a Divided House
I just now watched one of the most stirring speeches I’ve ever heard. It was televised in Washington, D.C., by C-SPAN. Randy Irwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, spoke for about ten minutes in the pouring rain, outside a federal government building, against President Donald Trump and the Republican party for their major part in the ongoing government shutdown that is now in its 12th day. Irwin said Trump is operating in violation of the U.S. Constitution by singling out what groups of people in the federal government that he is going to have the federal government pay its employees and therefore what other groups the government is not going to pay their workers as long as this shutdown continues. For example, Trump had already announced that all members of the U.S. military, who are paid by the federal government, will be paid.
The main point of Irwin’s speech was this, “Congress, do your damn job by passing the federal budget.” Congress has been locked into partisanship and therefore can’t agree on the budget. This is one of the many examples of the United States of America become so, so disunited mostly between our two political parties in our two-party system: Republican Party and Democratic Party.
Is Our Two-Party System Working?
Our two-party system is not working. I’ve been an independent voter all my life. Neither of our two political parties comes very close to representing my values. I think that’s why the U.S. has more voters who declare themselves as “independents” than those who say they are Republican or Democrat. Most democracies in the world are not like ours; they have many political parties. But, maybe the outcome of a change to a more representative system would not help us.
What Jesus Said About a Divided House
Jesus made a foreboding statement that applies to our situation: “No city or house divided against itself will stand” (Matthew 12.25; cf. Mark 3.25; Luke 11.17).
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In