The government is not a business.

We’ve been watching a Netflix series called Welcome to Waverly. Seven people who mostly identify as democrats/progressives (spoiler: there is one gay Republican), from mostly coastal states, agree to spend six weeks in Waverly, Kansas: population 600. The idea is to get people together from a small, rural town and people from big cities, people with diverse backgrounds and political ideaologies, and see what happens.

There’s one scene when one of the progressives, who has gotten quite drunk, is talking with some of the locals around an outdoor fire. She asks them if they voted for Trump and why. One woman said she voted for Trump because, “The government is a business and he is a successful businessman.” The progressive says, “No he isn’t, he isn’t a successful businessman,” and then walks away.

In my opinion, she lost such a great opportunity to have a discussion that needs to be had. Government isn’t a business and shouldn’t be run as a business. Governments are meant to govern, to represent the interests of the citizens, to be sure laws are enforced, to insure that people can live safe lives, to oversee the common good. Businesses exist to provide a service or goods of some kind and to make a profit. There is a huge difference.

And if our current government were a business, it would be on the brink of shutting down due to the enormous deficit that has been created in the last two years.

I don’t care if the president is a good or bad business person. I want to know that he or she can govern with intelligence, compassion, and with the common good of all people at the forefront of his or her mind. The same is true of all elected officials at every level of government. If a person can’t govern in this way, if they are putting their own interests and pocketbook ahead of the country, they need to find another job.

Some great relationships were formed during the filming of the show and tears were shed when they had to part. They learned the great truth that we’re all more alike than we are different and that it is okay to hold different beliefs - we can all get along if we’re willing to listen to one another and be willing to compromise. Those who continue to stoke the fires of hatred and separation are doing this only for their own profit. The more we common folks can meet and get together, the sooner we can leave this mess behind us. There really can be some Kumbaya moments in our future.

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