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OPINION
U.S. indecision travels beyond borders Sands Castle Sierra Sands Staff Writer
@LoyolanOpinion
A
s I woke up this morning in Bonn, Germany, the U.S. government was shutting down. Thirty minutes into the shutdown, I took a shower, brushed my teeth and ate breakfast. Everything was carrying on as usual, yet something was off. For the first time in seventeen years, I can’t flash my passport and say, “I have the full strength of the government behind me.” Headlines around the world reported the American government’s failure to meet a deadline. CNN, BBC and my favorite German paper, Spiegel International, all found the situation more important than political crises in the Italian and German governments. I don’t fully understand all the reasons why the government shut down, but I do understand that it’s a result of inaction between Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C. With our bipartisan system, disagreements are bound to happen; more than that, they are supposed to happen. Disagreement can lead to greater achievements but it can also lead to the death of a once-great system. The art of democracy is compromise. This stalemate is not good for the American people, economy or America’s image abroad. Since I left the safety of U.S.
Associated Press
While Washington, D.C. may seem far away for Sierra Sands, the government shutdown has directly affected her morale while abroad in Germany. borders 43 days ago, our country and trying to explain to me, in bro- economy is at stake. myself broke and stranded in forhas weakened the trust between ken English, its effect on Germany. Just over a week ago, I was cel- eign country? our allies with the NSA scandal, Not only were they dismayed that ebrating with the Irish at the end Good news: I can still check my made and then retracted a threat a country as large and strong as of their recession. Their GDP had Facebook, take money out of the of war on Syria and shut down the the U.S. could fail over something increased for the first time since ATM and attend class. The govgovernment due to a difference in that, in their eyes, is so small, but the market crash. If the American ernment shut down, but the world fiscal opinion. Whether we realize they also feared what this means economy tanks again, the global did not end. Bad news: We still it or not, the world watches Amer- for their policies. market could go with it. European don’t know at what cost. ica’s every move. Other countries America is now the most hypo- stocks have been falling since word This is the opinion of Sierra Sands, care what the U.S. does because it critical country in the world. We broke about the possibility of the a junior screenwriting major from affects them too. have often criticized situations shutdown. Germans fear the value Plymouth, Minn. Tweet comments to Though the American govern- abroad like the Euro crisis and the of the Euro will drop after being on @LoyolanOpinion, or email ment had only been shut down for struggling economy in Greece, but a steady climb for the past three cchenelle@theloyolan.com. half an hour, come breakfast time, Congress has not proven them- months. I fear the decline of the To read more about the Affordable Care Act, the catalyst for this my German host family was al- selves any better. More than the U.S. dollar. What if the value of the shutdown, visit laloyolan.com. ready fully briefed on the situation threat of reputation, the global dollar plummets? What if I find