Consequences…government shutdowns, preschoolers and post-Vinotok partiers

So the Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives won’t even temporarily fund the government to continue operations unless the Democrats capitulate on a law that’s been passed by both houses of Congress, signed by the president and vetted by the Supreme Court. And the consequences of being a Republican crybaby impact even our littlest citizens. For example, Stepping Stones had planned an educational field trip to Curecanti this Friday. But a notice went out Tuesday from Ellen Petrick, educational specialist at the Curecanti National Recreation Area explaining that due to the federal shutdown, “All National Park Service gates will be closed for the duration of the shutdown.” And she will be banned from her office and government email. So our kids will not stretch their brains this month, thanks to Ted Cruz and John Boehner.
While I don’t always agree with Republican Senator John McCain, he at least speaks as a somewhat sane person. He understands that the Republican debate and opposition to Obamacare was settled in the last election when the issue was front and center and still, to his amazement, Barack Obama won. “The people spoke” on Obamacare when they reelected President Barack Obama in 2012, McCain commented last week. However, he went on to say lawmakers shouldn’t “give up our efforts to repair Obamacare,” but not at the risk of a government shutdown. I agree with McCain’s conclusions. Obamacare needs some improvements, but the Republicans are acting crazy and trying to destroy the new health care law, not make it better. Zealots are not what are needed in our government.
Another consequence of this political theater is there will be no Forest Service or BLM work done during this shutdown. We are surrounded by public land so we will see ramifications. That includes not just educational trips for our children but also things like trail-work at Hartman Rocks that was scheduled for this week.
It’s all just so pathetic. While many people think they hate government, they actually like the good things that government provides. And they probably like the people who are the workers in the government…as opposed to the blowhard, highly paid congressmen and senators.
Here’s another example of consequences that will affect our valley. Hundreds of kids and young adults decided to continue the Vinotok celebration after the bonfire last week. So off they went to Oh Be Joyful for a night of camping and partying. That’s BLM land and it was trashed. Literally.
BLM public affairs specialist Shannon Borders told me Monday that the night of partying up Slate River had major impacts. “Lots and lots of trash was removed from the area after the incident,” she said. “Trees were cut down for firewood. There was resource damage to the land. People need to respect our natural resources and tread lightly. They didn’t.”
So next year on the Saturday of the Vinotok fire, more BLM law enforcement officers will be in the area to monitor the situation. Look for more law enforcement period as hundreds of people are drawn in to our area to experience one of the most “vibrant” festivals in the state that includes fire, drums, costumes and lots and lots of people—some of them experimenting with mind-enhancing substances.
But when negative effects result due to stupid, irresponsible, selfish behavior, it crosses a line. No doubt there will be a request to rein in the some of the excesses of the entire Vinotok party next year.
Fair enough. You can’t come to the valley (or live in the valley), trash part of the place and not expect to see consequences.
That could be said of the national government shutdown, too. There are consequences to irresponsible actions. That is what we are seeing on both the local and national levels. In real life, actions have consequences.