Thought for Today
Psalm 133:1 How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD ordained his blessing, life forevermore.
Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.
Shutdown – Day 6
I checked again this morning: The air is still turned on, the sun came up this morning, the Interstate is once again a reliably congested mess because it is Monday and there is the dependably commuter rush hour. Everything’s ‘normal.’ Whatever ‘normal’ might be!
I do try not to be too political in these Thoughts. However, this morning my mind is roiling with anger at all politicians. “The movie character who said, ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore’ is Howard Beale, a fictional character from the film Network (1976), portrayed by Peter Finch.” (Copilot Search) As I hear and read about ‘the Shutdown’ I cannot help but empathize with Howard Beale.
I understand that there are sincere, dedicated individuals on both sides of the current standoff, folks who believe they are doing the ‘right thing.’ I also understand that virtually all of the important issues confronting our nation today are complex, multi-faceted issues. There are no simple, easy solutions. There are no solutions which will satisfy everyone. However, I am at a total loss to understand how anyone can believe the path to any sort of resolution involves jeopardizing the jobs, food security, housing security and health of the thousands of employees of our federal government. Also, countless programs to combat job loss, food security, housing security and health for the rest of our population are also being jeopardized.
I thought about all of this yesterday at Coffee Hour following worship, as I talked with the director of our First Parish Community Food Pantry. Thankfully, our pantry is fully staffed by unpaid volunteers. It is funded and supported by contributions. However, the pantry does purchase some food from the Greater Boston Food Bank and its ability to secure food is threatened. Additionally, the numbers of those needing food assistance are already slowly increasing.
Whether the shutdown is to blame for any of this is irrelevant. The shutdown is preventing our elected officials from trying to resolve all of the problems currently facing our nation. If there is anyone left at NASA or NOAA, maybe it’s time to commission a study of the Potomac River. Is there something about the river that creates some warp in the time/space continuum? Maybe there is some sort of gravitational anomaly? Something has somehow befuddled the minds of all 3 branches of government allowing them to think what is going on in the District of Columbia is okay, forgetting that these are the real lives of real people they are impacting.
Just to make my mind even more unsettled, there is a story on the front page of the Boston Globe today which includes pictures of iron lungs. I spent my youth at ground zero of the polio epidemic. My best friend in elementary school was a survivor of what was often referred to as infantile paralysis. One of Greta’s next door neighbors contracted polio when they were children. Now we have the hot mess that is the CDC and the frightening debate about vaccines. I survived measles, chicken pox and scarlet fever. My brother survived mumps. Our children were spared all of those and more through those vaccines which are now being castigated and often avoided. And we have already had outbreaks of measles in several states. Imagine the laundry list of epidemics we are potentially facing.
Right now, I understand that fictional newscaster. Right now, I could gladly shout out, “I’m very mad and don’t need to take it anymore!” Yes, that’s not an exact quote. Think of that what you may. Somehow we need to get all of those we have elected to represent us to sit down around a figurative table and, in the words of a famous football coach, “Just do your job!” Of course, we probably should qualify that and insist that they consider the science and mathematics, the study results and all the other relevant data as they do so. We should also remind them that social media is not a science.
Stay safe, act responsibly, trust God,
Pastor Ray