That's what "Shut It Down" means

So, we're on day 8 of the Federal Government shutdown. According to Facebook, my friends who are Federal employees are either a) working without pay or b) growing furlough beards and have completely re-organized their homes. They're not on vacation, they're on hold. Vacations are planned and have defined start and end dates. Furloughs are just days of not knowing how you're going to pay your bills and if and when you'll be allowed to go back to work.

And in the meantime, the same Representatives who voted for the government shutdown are yelling at Park Rangers for doing their jobs (without pay) and proclaiming how terrible it is that soldiers' families aren't getting their benefits. And yes, this IS terrible. But that's what you voted for. The Federal Government isn't some faceless boogeyman that's out there trying to run your life, it's a lot of dedicated, hardworking, US citizens who have a lot of different (and often thankless and underpaid) jobs that keep our country running. It's Park Rangers who make sure you don't fall into a ravine, it's food inspectors who keep our food supply safe, it's accountants who make sure benefits get paid on time. But all those people have been declared "non-essential".

The folks who voted for the Tea-Party-aligned Representatives who voted for this, who yelled "shut it down" at rallies, who think that the Federal Government is big and bloated and unnecessary are now turning around and saying "how dare you not give veteran's their benefits?!" That's what you said you wanted. Death benefits aren't manna from heaven, they're something our government provides (and should provide). That means that check is processed by a Federal employee. When you tell the non-essential employees to stay home, and make it illegal for them to work, well, then, guess what? You are denied the fruits of their labor. And that sucks. There are pregnant women out there who were counting on their WIC benefits to give them the nutrition they need to have healthy babies (so much for the Right being "pro-life"). There are families out there who were counting on their benefit checks to make the mortgage payment. All because the Republicans are afraid that people will turn out to like the Affordable Care Act.

I understand that there are disagreements to be had about what the role and size of the Federal Government should be. That's fair. If small-government conservatives want to have an honest conversation about their vision of the Federal Government, I'm all ears. Let's talk about balancing the rights of the individual with the needs of the community. Let's talk about what "justice for all" means, and how we can make sure that everyone is taken care of while trying to keep anyone from being taken advantage of. We have a lot of people in this country, and a lot of viewpoints, and it is totally reasonable for us to have a serious conversation about what path is the best one for all of us to go down.

But in the meantime, let's pass a budget, so that doctors and food inspectors and Park Rangers and accountants and lawyers and intelligence analysts can get back to doing the work of the American people and get their paychecks, and so that soldiers and new mothers and veterans can get their benefits and WIC vouchers and disability checks. Stop holding the country hostage and start holding a conversation.