Straight from the Mike….Time to Check the Stitches

Rev. Dr. Billy Graham termed it best in a sermon when he stated it is time to check our stitches. It is quite appropriate to bear that in mind as we examine what is happening of late in our very midst. The daily airport scenes from several major airports across our nation should give us all pause whether we have air travel plans or not.

It clearly suggests that we need to check the stitches of our governing system, our society, and the health of our representative government. How did we get to this place where our representatives in the nation’s capital give benign neglect to the good and welfare of thousands of TSA employees? This current shutdown impacts FEMA, US Secret Service, US Coast Guard as well as our Homeland Security agency.

It is difficult for all that are affected by this partial government shutdown, but it really hits home for the TSA workers. It is if they are expected to have Christ’s miracle of the loaves and the fishes re-enacted every day until their deserved paychecks resume and no more payless paydays.

Moreover, it is not my intend to place blame on either political party. I believe there is enough blame to go around with plenty to spare. I want to emphasize the tone deafness to the human cries of the agents who are trying to ‘stitch’ together and once again put an end to their declining quality of life. Unfortunately, this all is taking place through no fault of the many people being affected. Sure, I know that the long lines at airports represent a real inconvenience. However, there is clearly a difference between an inconvenience and working without pay.

The late Rev. Jesse Jackson put it quite succinctly in an analogy using the fox and the hounds. He would say, the hounds are in the hunt for the sport, the fox is in the hunt to save his own behind. A passenger can enjoy the use of their headphones, fellowship with the family or other line mates as they stroll like molasses in July trying to get through security, the TSA worker has to decide whether to hold on or seek employment elsewhere.

If our leaders were serious as I believe they should be and true representatives of all of their constituents, they would offer to forgo their pay for as long as the shutdown lasts. They should engage non-stop until common ground and a resolution is reached. It is encouraging to see legislation being considered to require representatives to use the same security lines as the citizens they represent.

It is critically important that we ask our congressional candidates what their position would be if they were in office. No incumbent should be spared the question of what they did to address this shameful action. For me, I sure want to know what made them think that this was the right thing to do. Why would one risk shut down of critical areas of government at such a critical time in the course of things in the world today? It is wrong to let people to continue suffering that deserve to be respected and allowed to earn a living without being at the whims of either political party. Yes, it is evident that our stitches need to be tightened and tightened real soon. Otherwise, we are headed for even more perilous times thus giving pause to the upcoming celebratory festivities of our 250th birthday of our nation.

The words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King put in a grim perspective for me. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

I am Michael Murphy….