(A good friend noted my typo “succeed” rather than “secede.” I am sending this correction only to say it was NOT a Freudian slip!)
Day 10. and the polls show the American public is blaming Republicans for the shutdown. But polls and interviews also show that people still do not understand the gravity of what is going on. They want our leaders to “do their job,” by which they mean, “compromise and get things done.”
That sounds reasonable when you consider the fact Democrats and Republicans alike cater to special interests more than paying attention to the people they represent. But that is not the crisis we are witnessing. In the words of the immanently wise Bill Moyers, what Republicans are doing is “succession by other means.” That is it exactly. This is not about Obamacare, deficit reduction, or anything else. This is about rejecting the legitimate rule of laws enacted by the government. That is what many Americans either don’t see or unthinkingly dismiss.
We’ve been here before. Not with past shutdowns, but when the forbearers of my beloved south also decided to secede from the nation’s union. They could not get their way on the issue of slavery so they rebelled. Their rebellion was at first greeted with cheers and rebel yells. Four years later their foolishness had been laid bare. Six hundred thousand Americans lay dead, thousands of others wounded, and the south virtually destroyed. The responsibility lay squarely on the shoulders of a few misguided and stubborn southern leaders and a gullible public that supported them.
What we are seeing today is déjà vu all over again.
This week someone who wanted to be deleted from my Blog list (something, by the way, only the subscriber can do) wrote and said, “You really are wrapped up in this….honestly I can’t believe how personally you have taken all this.”
Honestly, I can’t believe how utterly complicit she is in this effort to undermine our form of government. Of course I am wrapped up in it. Of course I am taking it personally. This is about the country’s soul. This is about the country’s heart. This is about the country’s future.
One day, a day that cannot come soon enough, one day when this is done and when we are trying to pick up the pieces of what used to be our government, we will look back on this time and ask exactly the same question we now ask about those who advocated and led the succession of 1861 that resulted in the Civil War: “What in the world were they thinking?”
linnposts.com 
Anyone with two IQ points should be “taking this personally!! I absolutely agree with all you have written about this “extortion.”
The Tea Party wing of the Republican Party needs to learn that you do not set the house on fire if you disagree with the outcome of the vote. What part of “democracy” is it that they do not understand? Do they understand what is supposed to occur in a democracy after multiple decisive votes by the electorate and Congress?
The Tea Party members are behaving as though the rules do not apply to them and are demonstrating a definite lack of moral conscience. Their actions have been akin to that of associated with sociopaths and their reasoning is simply off kilter.
I am amazed that so many in our country are encouraging their deviant methods. Perhaps those supporting the Tea Party’s extortion attempts will get a reality check only when their pocketbooks are slammed. Unfortunately, many are already being negatively impacted and Tea Party members simply don’t care. Their priority is forcing others who do have a moral conscience to “give in” to their demands. This is nothing short of criminal behavior! They disgust me.
Thanks, Anne. It helps to know others are thinking the same way. Let’s hope for a tidal wave. Maybe some day we will talk about this in person.
Fantastic and truthful comments.
I see a Freudian slip from the son of the South. It is to secede, not succeed!
From one of your “Damn Yankee” friends:-)
Thank you for your passionate messages, Jan! These folks are truly turning their backs on both brotherhood and democracy. Hope your vision of history doesn’t repeat itself.