Unless you have been living under a rock, you should be well aware of the Government shutdown. The extent of this action is enormous and reaches far beyond Washington D.C. As of this writing, the shutdown has been going on for 18 days and I hear talk of it exceeding the shutdown that happened in Trump’s first term as President, which lasted for 35 days.

I work for the US Census Bureau and therefore I am a federal employee. I have been out of work for the month of October. My daughter, Sadie, works for the US Fish and Wildlife Department. She has been based in Minnesota and spent the past two summers fighting wildfires across the country. She was set to start her winter work at a wildlife refuge in Georgia, but because of the shutdown, she is waiting for the government to reopen so that her job can start.

Not only are our jobs on hold right now, but millions of Americans are waiting for their Social Security checks to be sent out. Those that rely on Medicare and Medicaid are putting off doctor visits and medical treatments because they don’t have coverage. Families that rely on SNAP and WIC are trying to stretch what little food they have or going without so that their children can eat.

All of this has happened, and more, because Congress wouldn’t work together to pass a Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government. I know that there are many opinions on this. I don’t want to get into that here. What I do want to consider is the ramifications that result when we won’t come to the table to hear both sides and consider a compromise.

I grew up in a large family. My parents would gather all of us on Sunday evenings for a “Family Council” to go over the upcoming events in the coming week and to discuss any issues that we needed to work through as a family. One such issue was scheduling the bathroom in the morning. That can be tricky in the morning when lots of kids are getting ready for school at the same time. We were each given designated times to have it to ourselves and then there was a time when the door would be open and everyone could come and go to do final preparations for the day.

Meeting as a group and working things out in our Family Council helped us to listen to each other and to solve problems within our home. There were many times that I didn’t get my way, but I was able to share my opinions on matters equally with my brothers and sisters. When we would come to a resolution for the family on some situation, it was done with compromise. We learned as children and teens how to work through problems with others. When we didn’t get our way, we grumbled, but we went with what the majority had decided and appreciated the concessions that had been made for the opinions we had shared.

These lessons I learned around the kitchen table have taught me to look at circumstances from all different sides. The Native American saying, “Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his moccasins,” has always held importance to me. We should not point fingers at someone and think we know everything happening in their lives. We should get to know them and understand why it is that they do certain things or act the way they do.

Congress needs to stop fighting and start listening. They should be willing to compromise and be willing to put their party aside in order to do what is best for the American People. This shutdown is hurting people everywhere. Nothing good ever came about because people said that they wanted their way. Hearing what others have to say and finding a way to work through our differences is how we act for the greater good. And right now, 340 million people are counting on them to work out their differences and get the government moving again.