This page could pen many pages on the state of America right now.
It would make in large part for uncomfortable reading. At the time of writing the government is shut down and hundreds of thousands of federal employees are facing a furlough without pay. It's possible that quite a few of them might never return to their jobs.
Just about everyone of us will complain at times about government. Quite a few in America will complain about government on a regular basis. There has been a vigorous debate on the role of government since the birth of the republic 249 years ago.
Some complain with great passion about the evils of "big government."
Custer National Cemetery in Montana.
The size of government doesn't matter as much as the quality of it.
You can have bad big government and bad small government, good big government and good small government.
For the most part, the American people are well served by government at the local, state and federal level. All are anything but perfect of course but they are human entities so imperfection is a given.
All of us, those who serve and those who are served, are obliged to do our best to improve government, make it a better servant of the public no matter where it is and the size of it.
Those who are obliged include those who are in power. Now we could take a diversion here and lambaste those who are ultimately responsible for government and governance.
But the current political situation is fluid. No, what the next words will do is pay tribute to all those dedicated public servants at the federal level who turn up for work with a view to keeping the wheels turning under the daily life of the United States of America.
Hundreds of thousands of them, at the time of writing, are now facing turmoil and uncertainty, their lives and those of their families facing into days of stress as a result of the growing chaos that is now America's lot each and every day.
To say that we are in a "no way to run a country" situation is an understatement. But back to all those who are in the crosshairs of rigid minds that want to see the dismantling of government - no matter what its size.
We all know them. They are friends, neighbors, family.
All deserve better from a republic with 249 year under its belt.
And looking back down the years, and with history in mind, this editorial comes to the reader with two photos taken in recent days in two of the fifty states, Wyoming and Montana.
One of them obtained by the Echo is of Fort Laramie in Wyoming. The notice of closure at the gate speaks for itself.
Also speaking by their deeds are the dedicated Park Rangers who run and maintain the fort. They, federal employees all, are continuing to work without pay.
The second photo is of The Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana.
It, too, is closed during the government shutdown. These are just two places, historic and sacred, that have been closed around the fifty states in recent days.
And all for what?
Well, we'll leave the answer to that in the hands of the sane and sensible.
Wherever they are.
