In October of 2013, I made my grand trek to visit the Great Smokey Mountains for the fall colors. I'd planned for years to see this site, one of the furthests distances in the US from me in Hawaii. I attempted to enter the park, and although I was able to enjoy the main thoroughway, there were areas restricted by guards telling me I was not allowed because of "government shutdown". At the time I was enraged by the fact that we were paying someone to keep me out, rather than to keep the parks available as they should be (I hadn't been refunded any taxes because of this shutdown). Now the magnitude of the 2019 shutdown has changed my perspective.
Today I heard stories of the result of the TerroRump's current tantrum. 35 days of government shutdown over his wall project has exacerbated his damage to our previously protected natural spaces, leaving the national parks filled with tourist garbage. At the same time parks are collecting no revenue, not paying employees, who likely have little to no savings on which to live, etc, etc, as I imagine you have all been hearing on the news. Then, this morning the quote came to me, "We only destroy the things we do not value". WE. It's us HUMANS in America who have to take some responsibility for this. Rather than sitting on couches watching the news and being appauled (as appauling as it is), if we had different values WE would not be leaving trash in the parks. WE would be out cleaning it up. WE would be standing on The White House lawn, in the space that Donald Trump declared full on the day of his inaguration, when we could clearly see an empty space as we protested in the streets.
I say WE knowing that I too have done quite little. I feel overwhelmed by the sense of this sinking Titanic, of which I am not the captain. I feel it so strongly that I have had to excuse myself by leaving the country, where I feel comforted by the appearance of a well functioning system in Spain, watching governmnent workers whistling while they work, interacting with helpful officers and immigration employees, receiving cell/ internet service for less than the local taxes we pay on ours in the states. I am enjoying the luxury of Tenerife and investigating the possibility of being here long term while I watch the sinking ship from a distance. But I do challenge all of us to ask ourselves, "what is my responsibility in this?" What do WE really value, and if we do, how can we allow that to be destroyed? This seems like a non-partison question, , one that I wish I could send out across MSNBC and FOX news alike, to allow this devestating occurance to promote humans to action to protect things they value...or maybe even reconsider what they consider valuable?
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