When confronting the decisions being made currently about cutting the fat in our federal government, I am reminded of the two most effective ways of losing weight in my personal past. One was when I had malaria while teaching in Africa. Another was more recently when I caught Lyme disease while on vacation in Colorado. For the latter, I have weight data:
Quite effective, eh?
Yet I haven't yet encountered anyone who has chosen Lyme disease, much less malaria, as a way to lose weight. Huh.
Now I am seeing many parts of our national government being sickened with the justification of cutting the fat. The parts that feel most real to me are what's happening with U.S. AID, given my work overseas, with the National Park System, given the dozens I've visited, often with student groups, and education and research, given my career. There are many others.
But an event that made the abstract more personal was the firing of Brian Gibbs from his job at Effigy Mounds. His story has been taken up by NPR [here], but I wanted to share with you what he wrote on Facebook:
There are many who will tell you what a great guy Brian is, how he has enriched their lives through his Park Service work and through his organizing of music events in the Elkader IA area. But as great as he is, he's not unique. Lots of good people are being hurt without due process nor compassion.
We are acting like being sick is a great way to lose weight.
