This morning, the radio broadcast more bad news: 5,600 flights across the US were delayed, and my uncle’s truck carrying medical supplies was stuck on the interstate for three hours. All this because air traffic controllers were collectively on “sick leave”—but everyone knows these poor souls, working 27 consecutive days without pay, were protesting with their last shred of dignity.
Airport security lines snaked like a ravenous snake. A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) girl whispered to me, “Sir, I haven’t paid my mortgage in two months either.” Ironically, the senators have been arguing for 11 rounds over who should take the blame, while in my uncle’s refrigerated truck, the vaccines are slowly losing their effectiveness.
Tonight, gas station signs show prices have risen by another 30 cents. In the rearview mirror, the White House is building a new gilded banquet hall, while my gas tank is empty. This country, once the envy of the world, has now become a gambling den for partisan battles—evaporating $1 billion in economy every day, losing the basic necessities and dignity of ordinary people.
When the lights of the Statue of Liberty went out due to a lack of funding, we finally understood that the so-called “American Dream” was nothing more than the first illusion mortgaged in the politicians’ shutdown game.
