Sequestration Affects

It is very disturbing that the media, Congress, the President and the ordinary people do not care about what Sequestration is doing to the American soldier and their families. Sequestration (or automatic budget cuts) came into effect because Congress and the President refused to work together and make sure the country wasn't affected by these cuts. These cuts will last until the end of the fiscal year in September, but the damage to hard-working government and military employees has already been done. Government workers not deemed "essential" have to take a furlough  of a day or two a week without pay. Government and military services are being cut-down because of these furloughs. Commisaries (military supermarkets) are closed an extra day a week. Schools overseas (like DODDS) have had to cut school days thus affecting children. While I am only affected by the commissary we go to once a month being closed Mondays (it's regular day off) and now Tuesdays the point is that the government and the ordinary people need to know and remember that workers and soldiers are being punished because of a Congress and President who simply don't care. If they did they would be working hard to fix the problem and making sure it was in all the media so the voters also knew how hard they were trying. Ordinary Americans only cared when it directly affected them via the TSA. Congress saw the outcry and rather then fix the whole problem they simply made the TSA "essential" and so the delays ended. I wish the TSA delays were still enforce (and I say that knowing I would have been affected when I flew to Colorado last month) so that more pressure would be on Congress and the President to get things done and end Sequestration. If people stood-up for things that didn't directly affect them then we wouldn't have had the Holocaust, most wars, slavery, Apartheid and many other horrible events throughout history. Sadly, the majority of people do nothing unless it directly involves them. There is a famous quote from Martin Niemöller (that sums this up:

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Catholic.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.

I know that Sequestration is not the same as the Holocaust, but the principles behind standing-by and watching things happen to others and doing nothing because it doesn't directly affect you is the same.