This isn't patriotism, it's pathetic

Here we are again, right down to the wire. There are 3 options: agree on a budget and spending cuts, pass another funding extension or shut the government down. You'd think that the reality of people not getting paid, troops still having to fight wars for free, thousands of families not knowing if they can pay their bills or feed their children if the government shuts down would spur people into action. But apparently not, all we see is hour long meetings and no closer to an agreement than yesterday.

I would like to suggest to Congress and the President, that if they would like to halt troop pay but keep their own paychecks fat and happy, then bring our troops home and send Congress to fight in Afghanistan and Libya. After all, they'd be getting paid for it. And I can guarantee that they wouldn't have the stresses of a typical American troop. They wouldn't have to worry if their families at home were able to pay the bills or get the car fixed, they wouldn't have to worry about a meager to almost nothing savings account. Their families are living at ease in large homes and mansions, barely giving bills a second thought, traveling on expense accounts and only having to worry about where their children will go to college.

The typical military family lives paycheck to paycheck, most times unable to put anything into a savings account. A military family with children is oftentimes on some sort of assistance to be able to eat. How can this be possible? The military is supposed to be the answer when someone wants to provide a steady paycheck and a roof over the heads of his family. It's side effects are an incredible sense of pride and patriotism that you can see and feel, strength that blossoms over every separation and deployment, and a feeling of being a part of something bigger than yourself. The military family looks deployment in the face and stands strong, stands united to get through it. They know their loved one might not come home, but they say "see you later" with a smile on their face and a breaking heart, all for the good of the country. They must do this all on a tiny paycheck, junior enlisted members earning $20,000 or below annually. Now Congress is asking them to do all of this for free? The promise of back pay does little to ease the worry, creditors and landlords don't get paid with "back pay".

I am sad to live in this country right now, a country with a government that procrastinates and procrastinates, putting off a problem that could have been taken care of with some elbow grease and some long days. The troops fighting overseas don't have the luxury of putting off their fighting, they must face it day after day and survive to come home to the families awaiting their return. It's pathetic that it must always come down to a deadline for Congress to get any work done or make any kind of progress. If Congress were faced with never-ending deserts, sleeping on the ground in shifts, facing the very lethal bullets and IEDs of the enemy, all while trying not to worry about their struggling family at home, the wife who had to get the car towed, the husband taking care of an infant, the kids asking where mommy or daddy are, and then not getting paid for any of it maybe they'd realize the seriousness of their actions and work together to solve this problem.

To those saying "shut the government down", I'm guessing you don't have a government job. Tell that to the 800,000 government employees who might be asked to "stay home". Tell that to the Marine dodging IEDs on his patrol, tell that to the Marine's wife with two kids to feed and no extra income. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like the answer. You are, of course, entitled to say whatever you like but ask yourself before you open your mouth "Is this going to make me look like an idiot?". As a Marine wife, I'll go ahead and answer with "probably".

I'll end with a call to Congress and the President, please figure something out! Stop your pissing contest and look at the bigger picture, you're messing with people's livings, their way of life. Your actions and inactions are affecting us all. You should be working together, not against each other. Stop disagreeing with each other just because you're a Republican and he's not. All your nit picking and arguing is juvenile, so act like the "adults" you keep saying you are, be "mature" and get something done!