I made my own choice years ago to not write about politics. My mother always told me if I could not say something good or something to help the situation, I needed to just keep quiet.
I have always been one of those people who can sit back and listen to both sides. Most of the time I can understand where each is coming from.
There is always two sides to every controversy.
I have never had the desire to serve in public office. I admire those who do serve and wish them nothing but the best. It can not be easy. It is impossible to please everyone. Decisions made may please half the people but it will make the other half unhappy. I am sure those serving can get very frustrated as many times it seems they are in a no win situation.
I am not backing down from my “no politics” policy but I have to say I am disturbed to see so many people out of work because of the government shutdown.
I know government shutdowns have happened many times in the past but this one has been declared the longest.
Again, I can see both sides. One wants a wall, the other does not. As far as the wall, I can see it can be beneficial but I can also see people finding a way around it. I do wish they could work it out and come to terms without causing so many workers to be in financial jeopardy.
We should all have a concern for the thousands of people on furlough who are not bringing home a paycheck.
It is easy for the rest of us to have an opinion and even argue the pros and cons of any situation. The furloughed workers and those working without paychecks still have rent, mortgages, car payments and utilities to pay, not to mention groceries.
Hopefully, their mortgage holders will be lenient but again their jobs depend on the rest of us making our obligations.
A couple weeks ago I wrote about the woes of worry, but it is difficult not to worry about the present situation.
We think it does not affect us but in reality it will affect all of us.
It reminded me of a little article I read on the internet several years ago. I do not know where it originated from but it certainly made me stop and think.
It was called A Journey Called Life:
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.
"What food might this contain?" the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed this warning: "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is no consequence to me. I can't be bothered by it."
The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house, there is a mousetrap in the house."
The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it. Be assured you are in my prayers."
The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."
So the mouse returned to the house head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house. The sound of a mousetrap catching its prey.
The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail was caught in the trap.
The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.
When she returned home she still had a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with chicken soup. So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.
His wife's sickness continued. Friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.
But alas, the farmer's wife did not get well and she died.
So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide everyone meat for the funeral luncheon.
And the mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.
So the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and you think it doesn't concern you -- remember the mouse. We are all involved in this journey called life.