When I had my first surgery in the early years of this century, things didn’t go as well as they could have, and I spent a lot of time in bed watching television. (That could be why I don’t watch much TV now. Anyway…) There was a show I stumbled across called “What Not to Wear.” Over the course of a week distilled to a half hour or hour production, our intrepid hosts turned ugly ducklings into if not beautiful swans, better looking ducklings. The advice seemed simple enough.  Don’t follow a crowd. Don’t even do what you think you want to do. Do what works best.

I was thinking about that when I was reading this week’s major news stories – the releasing of National Guard on the nation, Cheesedoodle Donny and Pentagon Petey berated career officers, and of course, the government shutdown. All, yes all, a result of some people who just do whatever pops in their heads without consideration, without thought, without doing what would work best. They need a makeover show called “What Not to Do.”

Here in Pennsylvania, there has been a budget impasse for three months. They’ve not approved a budget on time in 10 of the last 14 years. It doesn’t matter what party is in the Governor’s office, the Democrats and the Republicans loyal to their party rather than their constituents, drag on and on, while on their way to eventually passing the same budget the Governor presented them well on time, all the while making news time for themselves, recording soundbites over what’s wrong with the other party, and how they are doing this “for the people who elected me to work for them.”

Over in Washington, the last time there was a shutdown over a budget fight was the last time the orange menace tried to run things his way. For 35 days the two parties listened to whatever their party leaders told them to argue about rather than to their constituents. It ultimately ended when the air traffic controllers, who hadn’t been paid for 35 days, walked out, leaving many politicians stranded in DC, unable to take their lobbyist paid junkets. All they had to do 35 days earlier was the right thing.

In yesterday’s Uplift post, The way of love, we discussed the right thing, how to get there, and how to stay there. It’s worth the few minutes to read it. Then maybe forward a copy to your Senators and Congresspersons.