Shutdown: causes and aims versus what it really means

Fake, fake and more fake means gearing for a resurrection of some real politics. This show about a government crisis is not even convincing acting. No Oscars here. But you can bet that when the dust settles more austerity will be negotiated. It was the goal from the start but there was no excuse to do it. Now the Prezident can appear reasonable when benefits for seniors are cut and tax breaks handed out to the more fortunate. More interesting perhaps, is how policy is conducted nowadays: by overblown virtuality (and theatrics). As the Virtual world becomes more prominent, (e.g. drone wars fought on monitors not tanks or amphibious landings like D-day, wall street not main street, facebook not bars, amazon not jc penny, etc.), physical politics is diminishing. More and more, politicians seek ways to work through the virtual (they must!) in order to impact upon physical politics (Machiavelli, power, deal-making, constituency services, etc.). But their effort will fail. No, physical politics will not disappear but the Virtual space is becoming less and less connected to it. Soon politicos will not be able to make changes, no matter how much they holler on Sunday morning talk shows.

Why it is too late for a U.S. government shutdown

The government of the US 'shut down' long ago as of many other governments across the globe. This outcome is not from any actions that they have taken (e.g. no not from overspending, too much debt nor neglect of the poor). They have rather all been de-referenced or unmoored thanks to a wave of communication which equalizes all deep ideas and values. What it means to be American has faded to the point where the US government has been pursuing counter-national interests such as giving Iraq to Iran and gutting its manufacturing base through tariff-destruction. Even the anti-America, aka Iran, is detached from its religious roots and likely rapidly which is why their new President seeks some quick successes before its irrelevance is complete. The EU governments pursue policies that do not help their majorities while claiming to defer to the even more distant government in Brussels. In the face of these trends, the looming shutdown is strangely anti-climactic. Washington DC has already been detached from the nation. A congressionally mandated shutdown only certifies the trend.