Remember last spring when Federal employees were being demonized as the root
of all that was wrong with our government and society.  Some were described
by demogogues as "jack-booted Nazis".  Then the bombing in Oklahoma City
happened and the whole contry realized, much to our horror, that the angry
words spoken in public by demogogues really do matter.  Israelis have all too
unfortunately learned the same lesson about the level of rhetoric in public
discourse in a democratic society.

If there is a "silver lining" in this whole Federal shutdown mess it is this:

Think of those nightly images of the park service rangers, the smithsonian &
national gallery staffs, and the myrid other federal employees who have
fought with dignity to resume their jobs and to serve the public.  These
images and stories in the press have served to humanize these people and to
empart a measure of empathy to them in the public consciousness.

What a difference a year makes!

I do worry, however, about the corrosive effects of these cynical political
ploys.  How many people would want  to work for the government anymore?

Dave

David Harvey
Conservator of Metals & Arms
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, VA   23187-1776  USA
voice:     804-220-7039
e-mail:  [log in to unmask]