Everyday Americans need to keep talking about the government shutdown to reach a compromise.
What does it all mean? Does it affect me? Can I still travel? Will FAFSA still come through? How will I get my tax returns? What about the State of the Union?
These are just a few of the looming questions that plague the nation as we continue through the longest government shutdown this country has ever faced. Democrats refuse to pass a spending bill which would provide President Trump $5.7 billion for a border wall with Mexico, but President Trump won’t take no for an answer.
Although there have been countless lunches and negotiations to reach an agreeable solution, this shutdown is beginning to lose merit. At this point, the shutdown is less about an appropriations bill and more about national security.
In the grand scheme of things, $5.7 billion is just one-tenth of one percent of the budget. In addition, a plethora of videos of Democratic senators have surfaced over the past couple of decades also in support of securing the border. Obama himself said that there is a humanitarian crisis at the border. So then, if both parties are in favor of securing the border, what is the problem?
First and foremost, regardless of whether or not one supports Trump, credit has to be given where credit is due. He is standing for what he believes in and attempting to keep a campaign promise, something politicians are notoriously bad at doing.
Trump has arguably been the most polarizing president this nation has seen. Because this border wall is tied to him, the Democrats cannot let him have the win. This is not a matter of being a racist, a sexist, a bigot or a homophobe. What people fail to realize is this is not even a matter of political parties. This is about our national security.
According to Article 1 Section 8 of the United States Constitution, Congress has both the power and duty to “provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States.” The question then becomes whether or not there actually is a problem at the border in regards to the general welfare of the nation.
To answer this, I would pose another question: Would you be willing to rip the front door off of your own house, apartment, or dorm, to let people come and go as they pleased?
It’s hard to argue that there’s no problem at the border. Drugs, human trafficking, rape and murder are just a few of the problems we see from the border. Other problems include immigrants who attempt to take the legal way in and are denied entry because illegal immigrants have taken their spots.
Realistically, there should be no debate here, $5.7 billion is very little in the overall budget. If it will stop illegal immigrants from crossing the border with drugs or harming U.S. citizens, the wall is more than worth it.
Of course, the U.S. also needs to form more comprehensive immigration laws. Everything has to start somewhere. Some people argue “illegal immigrants will come through tunnels,” or “most drugs come through planes.” To that, I pose another scenario: If you have lung cancer and heart disease, do you only address the one that kills you faster or do you deal with both the best you can?
This is not about the gun debate in our nation, or that legal citizens commit more crimes or other problems we have as a nation. This is merely about whether or not the wall will help our country.
Democrats are moving farther left and Trump remains hard on his stance. This is not a Republican issue nor a Democratic one –– this is an American issue. As Americans, we should urge our politicians to stop playing politics with people’s livelihoods and come to an agreement with what is best for the nation.
This leaves us with the real problem. At this point, the shutdown is merely hurting hard-working Americans because the government will have to eventually reopen. Everyone can see that there is a problem at the border. Everyone can see that something needs to be done. So why can’t we act?
Christian or Atheist, Democrat or Republican, green or purple, no matter where you stand on any spectrum, it is true that something needs to change.
This shutdown is not about red or blue, it is about red, white and blue.