Government Shutdown? Oh, the Humanity!

During the 2013 federal shutdown, the National Park Service barricaded the pull-offs on the George Washington Parkway. Now, a couple of these provided access to toilets, exercise or picnic equipment, but the vast majority just provided a view of the Potomac River. We had all worked in federal offices or knew many who had. We all recognized the petty hatred being expressed. And, frankly, we walked down to the river behind the barricades, watched the sunset, and played Frisbee games and drained our dogs. Most of us had time with the federal offices closed. And then, wonder of wonders, the barricades disappeared and our long national nightmare was at long last over. The survivors resumed normal life, the nation trudged on.

Now the excellent Sharyl Attkisson writes on X (or, for those who have been sheltering for a long time against the threat of a federal shutdown who might have lost touch, Twitter):

Quick story about govt. shutdowns and the theatrics behind them. One year when I was reporting at CBS News during a govt. shutdown, I think 2013, we were sincerely searching for real life impact. When we couldn't find any, *that* should have been part of the story. Instead, we kept trying to create the appearance of an impact. It wasn't really trying to be dishonest. It was, in my retrospective view, because the general editorial idea for the story was to show how bad the "Republican" shutdown was for ordinary Americans, and the answer simply couldn't be that it wasn't. I've written quite a bit about this but we, as journalists, too often "decide" the story in advance and shape the facts to fit our narrative, rather than gathering information and letting that tell the story, whatever it may be. Anyway, the Ds were blaming Rs for the shutdown, so we were calling Ds and the Obama administration for ideas to report what was the real impact. Taking our cue, these officials fabricated impact that we could report. For example, they cordoned off outdoor public monuments in Washington DC. We knew and even discussed in the newsroom that this made no sense. These monuments weren't "manned" to begin with. The only reason to cordon them off from the public was so that visiting tourists would see the "impact" of the shutdowns and the news media would have something to take pictures of and interview people about. There are other examples but this is the one I remember the most.

And that is the rest of the story.

I have bulk rice and bottled water. Come on by if things get hard.