Yesterday, Sunday, major headway was made to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Across social media today, the outrage was instant. Some claimed that the New York State Senator, Chuck Schumer’s time in Congress was over because he supposedly “caved” to the ruling party in order to reopen the government.
When I see such reactions, I sit back and watch. I analyze the tone, the anger, the impulse to condemn before understanding.
Yes, people are shocked and angry about what happened last night, and perhaps they should be. But what happened in the capital of the United States was not a betrayal, as some political commentators would like to claim. Politicians are supposed to be serving the people.
Let's be honest, politics is messy. It always has been. And if you are a person with a conscience and a soul, there’s often very little about it you would want to touch. Real politics requires negotiation, compromise, and sometimes taking a step back so the country doesn’t collapse further. Look at the outcry these past few weeks over SNAP benefits being cut. Yes, there are abuses but they are also people whose livelihood depends solely on this.
While social media can afford the comfort of moral purity, governing demands responsibility if you ask me.
During the shutdown for instance, hundreds of thousands of federal workers were struggling to pay rent, buy food, and keep their families afloat. Small businesses were suffocating. Communities were in limbo. Ending the shutdown wasn’t about party pride, it was about human lives.
That’s why I find it ironic when people accuse leaders of “selling out” for choosing to end the suffering. The loudest critics are often the least affected.
Much has been made about the “eight Democrats” who voted to reopen the government. They’ve been called traitors, sellouts, even corporate puppets. But the truth is more complicated than hashtags and soundbites. Yes, the rich will always get their way, they have more money to buy a whole politician/s while most people only rely on their vote for change. It just doesn't help the ordinary every day people.
In reality, these lawmakers faced an impossible choice: continue a shutdown that was hurting millions or compromise to reopen the government and live to fight another day. Honestly, I will say those democrats didn't cave to their demands, but cave to their donors. Politicians are front runners and kids, take note.
To call that “betrayal” is to misunderstand what leadership is. Sometimes leadership means taking the hit so that ordinary people can breathe again.
It’s easy to say “follow the money” we all know that, and yes, money in politics is a real problem as as stated earlier. But not every vote or decision comes from corruption. Sometimes it comes from context, strategy, and timing.
The truth is that politics is a chess game, not a street brawl. If you burn all your pieces to prove your passion, you will have nothing left when it’s time to win.
Progress in a democracy doesn’t happen through boycotts alone, it happens through persistent engagement, negotiation, and more importantly, compromise.
There’s another narrative being pushed, that “the oligarchs” control everything, that every politician is bought, and that the people have no power except to boycott. That kind of thinking feels righteous, but it’s also defeatist.
Yes, corporations influence politics, no argument there, folks. But let’s not pretend the solution is as simple as “buy Black” or “buy local.” Economic resistance has its place, but disengaging entirely is not how power shifts.
Real change comes from building coalitions, voting strategically, holding officials accountable, and showing up, not checking out. Politics is corrupt, but that is what we have got, let's use our strategies wisely.
When we paint all public servants as villains, we destroy the possibility of good governance altogether.
There’s also fear about healthcare, and much of it is justified. Some conservative plans do aim to roll back the Affordable Care Act. But let’s be clear: not every negotiation over the budget is an attack on social safety nets.
The Affordable Care Act still stands because of political compromise. Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare survived decades of opposition because both parties, at different points, chose preservation over purity.
If Democrats refused to reopen the government until every program was guaranteed, the shutdown could have stretched into months. And millions of Americans, including those who depend on those very safety nets, would have suffered first.
People love to romanticize rebellion. “Shut your wallet,” “burn the system,” “buy nothing.” It sounds powerful, but what does it achieve in practice?
Revolutions that succeed are guided by organization and patience, not fury.
Progressives should remember that the New Deal itself, the very thing many claim to defend, was born out of compromise and coalition-building, not social media outrage.
So yes, be angry. Be vocal. But also, be strategic.
Because if every act of negotiation is labeled betrayal, then no one will ever be brave enough to lead again.
It’s easy to call out politicians from the comfort of a timeline. It’s harder to understand the weight of keeping a nation from crumbling.
The decision to end the shutdown wasn’t cowardice, it was compassion.
It wasn’t about surrendering to power, it was about restoring stability to millions who had nothing to do with Washington’s gridlock.
You can call that politics. I call it responsibility.
I just read that the Bill t reopen the government is now of to the House of Reps. America is not broke, we just have to get rid all the waste but in a smart way so the vulnerable among us doesn't starve to death. That will be a curse on America.
Pal Ronnie
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