Day 40
Today is Day 40 of the government shutdown. Both parties still struggle to find a resolution to the ongoing conflict. It is now one of the longest shutdowns in American history. Because of this, many government workers in aviation have gone on strike resulting in delays and reductions of flights. Healthcare policies are also a topic of debate, mostly on whether healthcare should be protected by the government or individuals should be fully responsible for themselves. With the shutdown dragging on, the staff shortage continues to increase while also disrupting important programs like SNAP and social services. This has concerned all Americans as well people internationally. Although this is not damaging the economy of the country in direct significant amounts, this will be a preview of what waits in future.
Similar to Sweat, the country's state and the environment of people locally are not too great. Living in constant worry and anxiety, divisions are becoming more prominent and people are separating. Families may be separated due to difficulties in flights, communities may be separated economically and the nation is divided between the political parties as each side blames the other. This eventually leads to distrust in the government and local communities. We saw this happen in the play when Olstead's suddenly fired floor workers and shut them out. Tracey and the others grew resentful and blamed Cynthia, who was technically apart of the management, causing their friendship and trust to break. After years of working together, their connection was broken so suddenly. While its possible that if Cynthia had stood up for her friends and fought with them they could have still been friends, realistically I think the broken friendship was bound to happen either way. Yes, the betrayal of a friend was cruel and painful, yet Cynthia also felt resentment towards herself and the company. Ultimately, it was the company that caused the rift between them. With society and major authorities like governments and companies running as a business, they only see the profit, dividing the people. This is the effect of capitalism. It begs the question, is this shutdown a step towards breaking our nation?
i like how you mentioned the government shutdown! Its a really good tie-in between sweat and our real lives, especially because so much of sweat is already so pertinent in our current society.
ReplyDeleteI liked how it was as if you previewed how the future would play out by connecting a similar overall incident in sweat to real life. Then when you asked the final question, "is this shutdown a step towards breaking our nation?", we have context to think about it based on the results in the play.
ReplyDeleteThis made me shed a tear.
ReplyDeleteI like how you linked the government shutdown to the themes in Sweat, It's a insightful point that major authorities (like the company or the government) prioritize profit/power, which is the ultimate cause of division and distrust at the community level.
ReplyDeleteThis is awesome not only because it talks about our current situation in this country but also because it questions about the future and what could happen in our future. I also loved how you pointed out that many corporation and companies have no other interest but profit and their interest is definitely not the people living in this country. -Sei Park
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