Rev. Sinkford Blog (Rev. Sinkford is Minister of Portland First Unitarian Church) "Shutting Down Written on 03 October 2013. Posted in Bills Blog It is day three of the “partial government shutdown” and I am struggling not to shut down. I find myself not wanting to read the paper or turn on the news. It would be laughable, if people were not being hurt. It is maddening that our elected leadership is so dysfunctional that they cannot even agree to keep “the lights on.” Most of the press initially focused on the most easily visible impacts of the shutdown: the closure of national monuments and parks. But soon stories of people being hurt began: closing Headstart programs, delaying cancer drug-trials, stopping veterans’ claims, placing government employees who were already living paycheck to paycheck on furlough. Did you see the Chairman of the Republican National Committee arriving at the war memorials on the Washington mall with a check to pay workers so that those memorials could stay open? Do not misunderstand me—our veterans should be able to visit those memorials. But I haven’t heard of anyone arriving at the thousands of Headstart programs to help the parents who rely on that program. Or at the distribution centers for nutrition assistance. In the run-up to the shut-down, it was possible to watch the posturing as a kind of bad performance art. A flash-mob gone horribly wrong. More than half of the folks who represent us in Congress are millionaires. And even for those who are not checks will continue coming—unlike the 800,000 workers who have been furloughed. Knowingly, needlessly and intentionally doing harm to our sisters and brothers who are most vulnerable qualifies as sinful, even in my liberal religious theology that doesn’t talk about sin. You all know that I am a proud progressive—a “bleeding heart” liberal some would call me. It should be no surprise to you that I care about and look to the impact on the most vulnerable among us. I wonder, though, who will be complaining if our leaders don’t reach agreement before the debt ceiling crisis is reached in less than two weeks, when more of us who are comfortable may feel the pinch. This is not performance art. This is life. Real lives are at stake and many more may well be. We cannot afford to allow our differences to do such harm. We have a right to expect better of our elected leaders. I wish I could point you to some petition to sign or some protest to attend that might help our political system “get a grip.” Opportunities for those things will no doubt emerge as this continues. Calling our elected leaders cannot hurt. What I do believe is that, at a minimum, we have a responsibility to stay present to this insanity rather than trying to shut it out, to shut down ourselves. I’m preaching to myself, I know, but most good sermons are as much for the preacher as for the congregation. Bill"
Posted on: Fri, 04 Oct 2013 21:11:53 +0000
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