ANOTHER VIEW Volunteers step up in time of government shutdown crisis

On Jan. 9, the partial shutdown of the federal government entered its 19th day, and President Donald Trump and Congress seem no closer to reaching an end to their stalemate.

It’s no big deal for the president and Congress. Congressmen still get paid, and the president still enjoys the White House and all of its amenities. For those down the food chain, however, things are starting to get tight, and the president gives every indication he will wait as long as it takes to get his wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.

“We told the president, we need the government open,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters. “He resisted. In fact, he said he’d keep the government closed for a very long period of time, months or even years.”

Trump confirmed that statement shortly thereafter, even going so far as to claim, without evidence, that federal workers going without their paycheques would say the wall is worth it.

“This really does have a higher purpose than next week’s pay,” Trump told reporters, “and the people that won’t get next week’s pay or the following week’s pay — I think if you ever really looked at those people, I think they’d say, ‘Mr. President, keep going. This is far more important.’”

Newly restored House Majority Leader Nanci Pelosi, DCalif., however, continues to hold the line on rejecting any funding for the border wall.

Meanwhile, the “nonessential” federal activities suspended during the partial shutdown involve several of those closest to the public, such as national parks and some government buildings being closed.

For (Alabama’s) Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, the timing couldn’t be worse. This is the refuge’s busy season, and its biggest event, the Festival of the Cranes, is this month.

On average, the two-day festival attracts 5,000 visitors, with hundreds more visiting in the days before and after the event.

Fortunately, volunteers have stepped in. The Friends of Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge will cover electricity costs for the visitor centre and observation building Saturday and Sunday, allowing them to open to the public. Friends of Wheeler members and other volunteers will also staff the visitor centre.

Volunteers have stepped in elsewhere across the nation, too.

“In Vicksburg, Mississippi, the Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park and Campaign are paying $2,000 a day to keep the park open during the federal government shutdown,” reported The Washington Post last week.

This is the true spirit of co-operation and community. It is, to use an often abused word, real patriotism. Private citizens are stepping up to the challenge where their elected leaders fail. — Decactur (Alabama) Daily