Studying human beings always fascinated me.
I recently picked up this book titled ‘The Life Project’. A short description on the front cover said ‘In March 1946, scientists began to track thousands of children born in one cold week. No one imagined that it would become the longest running…’.
Well, that got me. The inside front-cover said, “the life project, is a book filled with people fighting incredible odds, of important discoveries from unexpected places, of determination, dedication and compassion”. I reflected on this for a moment. Wow! I want to see this nowadays in all human beings I see around – especially those who are in politics.
I take this example of US shutdown. It is not my focus who created this for no fault of those millions affected by it. It is important for me to know why for purely political reasons that this shutdown is continuing. I agree this as being hard on the humanity. However, I disagree on bringing border security to focus with or without that infamous wall or any issues, for that matter, when it creates hardship for these people.
I am certain that people will flex their muscle next time around. The president, the congress and the senate will not be spared. I strongly believe that the authority bestowed on any of these elected bodies should be limited in such a way that the humanity which elected them does not come to ‘harm’. At the top of every human beings’ priority is the need to have their rights fulfilled, but not at the cost of harming fellow human beings.
Now comes the question who should be held responsible for this ‘harm’ created by this shutdown. It all comes down to the elected body that has the most power to shut the government down. Who has that most power? The president or the congress or the senate? I think it is the president. It is one-man power vs the majority power across two chambers in the congress to bring such a shutdown.
With the limited knowledge I have on what goes on behind the scenes, it is my belief that it is immoral for any wing of the government to shut down the government for funding negotiations to go on. It could be that one may want that moon, but the funding to get that moon will be ridiculous if a politically party, does not matter which one it is, supports that want without a need.
In this current shutdown, the border wall seems to be that ‘moon’. In a globally connected world not having any borders on the crimes committed on the internet and the frauds that happen to gobble up billions, wall or no wall, has no relevance. When one of the earlier presidents yelled at the Russian president ‘bring down that wall’, who should be now yelling at this president ‘end this shutdown – wall or no wall’?
Score points – whichever way you like – but never at the cost of hurting the very humanity. It is much older and wiser than any political system. Humanities have hurt political systems. But political systems hurting humanities have seen their ends several times over in our history! I sincerely hope politics become an aid to lift human beings out of hardships, not used as a tool to push them into it!