Monday, September 30, 2013
I am both happy and relieved to report that my Hawaii project has been postponed. I very much want to go to Hawaii but the current timing is a bit challenging. After speaking with the program director today we agreed to consider having me come to assist in November. Renegotiating the project would allow me to enjoy October here in Minnesota and still participate at a date in the near future that will allow me more time to get other aspects of my life in order.
I went to visit my therapist today. Thankfully the PTSD resolution is happening smoothly enough such that I can now go back to work. The primary question before me now is what will I do for work. And this brings me to yet another commentary about the state of our nation.
The federal government of the United States will reduce its operations tomorrow due to the inability of the House of Representatives and Senate to find common ground. The last time there was a federal government shutdown was in 1995. I personally find it appalling that the GOP is willing to risk a government shutdown due to their obsession with attempting to defund and even eliminate Obamacare. Such a shutdown puts our economy at risk, endangers the basic welfare of some of our neediest citizens, makes us look like a laughingstock before the world and generally inspires little confidence in the capacity of the United States not just to successfully attend to its own affairs but to manage its commitments abroad. It's amazing what the egos of spoiled white men are capable of. Being held accountable for their arrogance, stupidity and melodrama seems to be something well outside their frame of reference. They do not seem to understand how much many Americans have been struggling to recover from the economic implosion of five years ago which Obama inherited from the former idiotic "president" known as George W. Bush.
I am continuing to do the work necessary to find my own personal healing. The antics going on within our own federal government have convinced me that it is wise to contemplate a longer term future in other parts of the world. Last year I gave my time and energy in an internship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Silver Spring, Maryland. I was hoping to start a career within the organization. That has not happened yet. And now, given the continuing gridlock in Washington, DC as marked by the failure of our Congress to successfully execute its most basic responsibilities, I have completely given up. I no longer desire a career in the federal government. I do not want a career in which I would live within a milieu defined by such contempt for civility and public trust.
I still love the country of my birth. Yet I can no longer easily stand by and watch such ridiculous behavior here at home when so many other Americans needlessly suffer as a result. A spirit of compromise needs to infuse our governance structure. Yet a willingness to compromise has been sadly lacking here in the American political scene for many years. Instead we witness a daily barrage of finger-pointing, name calling and pettiness the likes of which you would expect on a playground of kindergartners. It's sad.
Those among us in need of ongoing quality medical care are collectively put at greater risk by the events in Washington, DC. And even if a compromise is reached in a short time and the federal government resumes full operations there will still be damage done by what is unfolding now. Indeed how can you encourage people both inside and outside of this nation to invest in America when our Congress seems capable of operating in only one mode, namely crisis mode? This manufactured crisis is a ridiculous melodrama that is wasting taxpayer money and time. There are many of us here who would enjoy getting on with the business of living. If only our own Congress would act in the interests of all its citizens.
I am both happy and relieved to report that my Hawaii project has been postponed. I very much want to go to Hawaii but the current timing is a bit challenging. After speaking with the program director today we agreed to consider having me come to assist in November. Renegotiating the project would allow me to enjoy October here in Minnesota and still participate at a date in the near future that will allow me more time to get other aspects of my life in order.
I went to visit my therapist today. Thankfully the PTSD resolution is happening smoothly enough such that I can now go back to work. The primary question before me now is what will I do for work. And this brings me to yet another commentary about the state of our nation.
The federal government of the United States will reduce its operations tomorrow due to the inability of the House of Representatives and Senate to find common ground. The last time there was a federal government shutdown was in 1995. I personally find it appalling that the GOP is willing to risk a government shutdown due to their obsession with attempting to defund and even eliminate Obamacare. Such a shutdown puts our economy at risk, endangers the basic welfare of some of our neediest citizens, makes us look like a laughingstock before the world and generally inspires little confidence in the capacity of the United States not just to successfully attend to its own affairs but to manage its commitments abroad. It's amazing what the egos of spoiled white men are capable of. Being held accountable for their arrogance, stupidity and melodrama seems to be something well outside their frame of reference. They do not seem to understand how much many Americans have been struggling to recover from the economic implosion of five years ago which Obama inherited from the former idiotic "president" known as George W. Bush.
I am continuing to do the work necessary to find my own personal healing. The antics going on within our own federal government have convinced me that it is wise to contemplate a longer term future in other parts of the world. Last year I gave my time and energy in an internship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Silver Spring, Maryland. I was hoping to start a career within the organization. That has not happened yet. And now, given the continuing gridlock in Washington, DC as marked by the failure of our Congress to successfully execute its most basic responsibilities, I have completely given up. I no longer desire a career in the federal government. I do not want a career in which I would live within a milieu defined by such contempt for civility and public trust.
I still love the country of my birth. Yet I can no longer easily stand by and watch such ridiculous behavior here at home when so many other Americans needlessly suffer as a result. A spirit of compromise needs to infuse our governance structure. Yet a willingness to compromise has been sadly lacking here in the American political scene for many years. Instead we witness a daily barrage of finger-pointing, name calling and pettiness the likes of which you would expect on a playground of kindergartners. It's sad.
Those among us in need of ongoing quality medical care are collectively put at greater risk by the events in Washington, DC. And even if a compromise is reached in a short time and the federal government resumes full operations there will still be damage done by what is unfolding now. Indeed how can you encourage people both inside and outside of this nation to invest in America when our Congress seems capable of operating in only one mode, namely crisis mode? This manufactured crisis is a ridiculous melodrama that is wasting taxpayer money and time. There are many of us here who would enjoy getting on with the business of living. If only our own Congress would act in the interests of all its citizens.
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I invite you to accompany me as I document my own journey of healing. My blog is designed to offer inspiration and solace to others. If you find it of value I welcome you to share it with others. Aloha!