As the federal government sits in shutdown, this moment is a test of this nation. We are being asked to decide whether we will accept the permanent abandonment of families in exchange for temporary political comfort. That choice will not be forgotten.
I am a single mother in rural Utah working and going to school full time so my children do not inherit the poverty I was born into. I am not asking the government to raise my children. I am asking it not to sabotage us while we are climbing out.
Republicans in Congress are demanding deep cuts to food and health care for children and low income households. I want Democrats to refuse. If the result is that my two boys and I must go without food assistance for a time, we can endure it. I would rather go hungry today than live under a law that abandons families tomorrow.
A nation can endure hunger for a season. It cannot survive the starvation of generations. The future will record which leaders protected children and which leaders demanded their sacrifice. If courage costs us comfort, then pay it. Do not bend.
Alexis Wolze-LeFevre, Enoch