state of the nation

Im writing this a day after the federal government shutdown was adverted, one hour before the dead line. I felt somewhat compelled to write something about this since it directly effected me. I received a text message from a friend stating to check my LES (leave and earnings statement) because their paycheck had already been cut in half. With the shutdown looming this meant that federal employees and more importantly myself would not be paid. We were to report to work without pay for the duration of the government shutdown. We were told that we would be “back paid ” once the funding of the budget was restored. This could have potentially lasted until September. So my question is this…What the hell would we have done with out pay? Granted im sure there would have been some leeway given to us from our renters however that couldn’t have lasted forever. Eventually one would be evicted from their homes or their houses would have been foreclosed. Debt would have sky rocketed, and providing that life essential needs would have been non existent. If a soldier is unable to provide for his or her family, how are they supposed to live? This obviously set off a lot of panic in people. I heard many times that “if they’re not going to pay me then im not coming to work” and I completely agree with that. You are paid for services rendered, and in some instances they work their asses off in order to get that paycheck, which in reality isn’t that much to begin with. My question is this, what would happen if you really didn’t show up for work in the army. You would risk everything, including dishonorable discharge from the military due to failure to follow a direct order to come to work. Now granted this is a severe punishment but not completely out of the picture. It is possible. That’s a scary thought.
I received a text message from a superior yesterday saying that we should all check our LES because of the half pay problem that I was already aware of. At the end of it, it said “thanks to the democrats this is happening”. Im not exactly sure why I reacted this why but it really set something off inside me. I was unusually upset that with the delivery of this pertinent information they decided to throw in they’re two cents about which party was to blame. Ive given up on the idea of democrat or republican in the power struggle. Both sides are equally to blame for this but not only just the two sides but all politicians are to blame for this. Each side presents their own ideologies and is concrete in the fact that they are right and the other “side” is wrong. The problem lies in this, both sides are no longer serving the people. This class warfare is tearing our country apart. Simple discussions spark enormous rage and lashing out and anyone who thinks differently then they do. This is happening on every level. The line is obviously drawn in the sand. When does a party stop serving the people and start focusing on furthering they’re own agendas. Both sides are doing it. Democrats, Republicans, the Tea Party, George Bush, Sarah Palin, Barrack Obama, they all fucking scare the hell out of me. No one seems to be looking out for the best interest of the country as a whole. Only furthering they’re sides political agenda. This will never bring a country together. I fear we are falling apart, and have been for a long time. There is something in the air now that I never felt a few years ago…its palpable. You can feel the tension. So where do we go from here? Do we continue to pick our sides and ignore the bigger picture? Do we stick to our guns, and screw the rest? Or can we ever work together? The sad thing is, im not sure we can…