UP...SHUT..DOWN

                                                                      

 “There was a duke of York…He had ten thousand men…he marched them up the hill…And he marched them down again…And when they’re up, they’re up…And when they’re down, they’re down…And when they’re only half way up they’re neither up nor down.”

A warm-up exercise to quell nervousness, that was part of a program I had been chosen as a participant my freshman year at the University of Alberta. Taught by the Christopher’s who were graduates of the Dale Carnegie Course, it was a leadership course on campus  to build confidence and speaking abilities by using your  God-given talents to make a positive difference in the world.

The class began with about 20 colleagues and 3 instructors…instructors who had an accepting aura that enveloped the room. Being introduced meant coming to the front of the room and speaking in the allotted time. I recall some participants not being able to speak a word…frozen, with what appeared to be a complete mental shutdown…stuck in the middle …not going anywhere on the march. We had to clap anyway for the fact that they got up and stood in front of the class…that was considered trying…positive reinforcement. I was not frozen in the middle, but felt as if I had babbled enough to look stupid. Relieved that my turn was over, I sat down, happy to cheer for the next candidate. Sometimes this new confident candidate did not want to shut up when the time had elapsed. Clapping had a wonderful way of signaling the end.  Growth and achievement were evident in all from week to week, no matter where you were on the march.

It is now 15 days into a government shutdown and life for the majority continues with little impact on their daily lives. There are still jobs, football games, and operas, swimming lessons, running competitions, shopping and even the Oct. 15 tax deadline. This is not to lessen the seriousness of the consequences of what is happening, it is only to point out that this could not happen in many countries where rule is imposed. Each day the debt ceiling looms closer, the voices from the citizens of the United States become more intense. They will not be shut up or shut down…all have a say and that is what a representative government is all about. However, it seems that for years we have been marching up the hill and down again where more of the hill is being eroded. If the hill becomes flat lined citizens will have no further active involvement in their government…they will only be recipients.

Is the bigger question…Does government reflect what is going on in family life? Are we content to be more involved with ourselves than we are as a family? If we shut down our technology, would that cause us to shut up? Would conversation take the place of posting? Would we still need filibusters?