OPINION:
As the government slim-down ended, it became increasingly more appalling to me. The fact that only 7 percent (which is still 1,000 people) of the Environmental Protection Agency were considered essential and the fact it took the president 10 days to even talk to the party he insists was responsible for this disruption are just two of many things that have been quite revealing. Perhaps most interesting, though, is learning how unmoored from the Constitution our Congress and the public have become.
It would be difficult to write a script full of the drama, characters and inconceivable plot we have been faced with in this latest event brought to us by our government. No matter which side of this battle you fall on, there is no shortage of protagonists, antagonists and foils.
There is a climactic scene in one of my favorite movies, “The Patriot,” where the character William Tavington, a British colonel, rides his horse into the town’s church demanding to know where the militia are hiding. He then locks the doors with the people inside and turns to Capt. Wilkins, a local turncoat, and tells him to burn the church down. The captain is conflicted and points out the lack of honor in such action, but quickly succumbs to the colonel’s order.
If I were to relate the major players in this latest government travesty to this movie scene, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid would be the colonel, and Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, would be the captain, with Sen. Bob Corker, Tennessee Republican, and Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican, offering their flames to light his torch. Of course, the U.S. taxpayers would be those trapped inside of the burning building. To play this comparison all the way out, I see Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, playing the patriot, Benjamin Martin, screaming to his brothers in arms, “No retreat, hold the line!”
Let’s just hope this battle and future ones in Congress result in more freedom for the U.S. citizens, not more tyranny.
RINGO LANZETTI
Falls Church
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