Hate for "Washington" is Misplaced

Artwork by jenhud.com

The current dysfunction in the U.S. House of Representatives would be fun to watch if it weren't so sad for the nation. No matter what your political stripe, I'm pretty sure that we all just want the federal government to function with professionalism.  And while we're far from the actual fisticuffs that sometimes broke out on the House floor in the 19th century, we're dangerously close to being unable to distinguish the proceedings from Jerry Springer show antics.

But one thing that particularly chafes me are the potshots being aimed at Washington. Unfair and uncalled for! 

While Washington is clearly shorthand for some thing that people love to hate, it is an actual real place where real people (nearly 700,00 of them) live, work, and play. And despite the notion that the population completely swaps out with each presidential transition, this is far from the case. There are many people here who do indeed make a living that is somehow connected to the activities of the federal government:  as career employees, journalists, advocates for interests as varied as low-income families to every type of industry, etc.  But many more just do the things that people do everywhere: drive the bus, run a shop, care for the sick, make IT systems function, teach, cook and serve meals, and pick up the trash. Moreover, 85 percent of federal employees live outside the DC metro region.

But the current brouhaha on the Hill was not fomented by anyone from Washington -- the guy who just lost his job is from Southern California and his archenemy is from Pensacola, Florida. The rest of the rogue Republicans are from Arizona (two of them!), Colorado, Montana, Tennessee, and South Carolina, plus one guy from Virginia whose district office is in Lynchburg, a city maybe best known as the home of Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.  And if you are one to blame the Democrats for joining with this group -- remember that Washington has no voting representation in Congress. (I'll save the discussion of statehood for another day.)

So if you're mad, fine.  I get it. But make sure your anger is directed at the people who are making the mess and leave those of us proud to be called Washingtonians out of it.