The Washington location, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park is closed. The few visitors that are still there, have a clear opinion on the financial blockade, such as Michael Knigge reports.
Against the morning cold with two Pairs on top of each other without taking off their gloves protected, completed Janette Alsford your daily Bicycle round in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park. As they walked in the Park? You’ve been on your bike in the national Park of “pure speed” and this would lock up to the hopefully soon-to-be at the end of the budget continue to do so, says the graphic designer, who lives in the area, with a chuckle. The national Park is officially closed to the Public, the Station, the Park Ranger is orphaned, and the access with car and buses blocked. However, visitors on foot or by bike can enter the vast area at your own risk of many of the pages from easily, or drive.
Alsford is on this cloudy, cold Friday morning, the 14th. The day of the so-called “shutdown” in the United States, yet one of the very few visitors in the Park. “Normally it would be full,” she says. But the cold and especially the “Shutdown” have deterred many visitors. The Park with its numerous walking and Hiking trails with views of the raging rapids of the Potomac river, is normally one of the main natural attractions in the Washington Metropolitan area and attracts tourists and Locals alike.
Janette Alsford hopes to be able to the Rangers soon, your new year’s cards to pass
But not only the tourists are not arrived because of the “shutdown” in the first place, also many Locals who come as Alsford usually every day in the Park, stay away. “A lot of people come here usually to go with your dog for a Walk,” she says. “I don’t know really, but I’ll wave to three or four people I see every day.”
New year’s cards for the Ranger
The most Alsford, however, regrets the Absence of the Park Ranger, especially in the absence of the same Rangers that opens for you every morning the gate to the Park. “We just have each other a very good relationship, so I miss him,” she said, adding: “I even still have new year’s cards for the Ranger in my pocket, I wanted to give you, but you are not here.”
Who is the “Shutdown” and allow for the absence of the national Park Ranger, to how to stay a total of 800,000 US government employees currently at home or no pay work, is responsible for Alsford clear: Donald Trump. “He just plays games with the lives of 800,000 government employees who can’t work.”
Trump was in debt, but all of them must now find a solution, says Jay Paul Hinds
This view Jay-Paul Hinds, Professor of theology at Howard University in Washington. He comes regularly to the Park to find when you walk by the river to rest from the hectic everyday life. “The Shutdown is sacrificing the welfare of the workers for political purposes,” he says, and adds. “And the fact that President Trump is so stubborn, is very disturbing.”
Toilets closed
Before he wanted the way back from his morning run round took Steven Schupak go to the toilets – but here this Morning in vain. “The toilets in this Park are closed. It’s ridiculous,” he says, but stresses that the locked toilets were only a comparatively unimportant Detail of the “Shutdowns”. The affected government employees, they are the real victims of this crisis. “It’s just a bad, bad Situation.”
Also Schupak, who lives in the area, sees Trump as the main person responsible for the budget blockade. “His Ego is at stake,” he believes. Therefore, the President had reiterated his demand for billions for the construction of a wall along the border with Mexico recently. Trumps attitude make a quick end to the crisis is unlikely, he said Schupak.
The popular Park is officially closed, but for pedestrians and cyclists, accessible to
Congress has a duty
It is important to emphasize that the personal assessments of the national Park visitors Schupak, Hinds and Alsford are naturally not representative for the evaluation of the “shutdown” by the American population as a whole and can be. Rather, they provide anecdotal and regional Mini-snapshot of this 14. The morning of the “Shutdowns” in a national Park in the vicinity of Washington.
And nevertheless, the evaluation of the Three seems to reflect the attitude of many Americans quite well. Several short after the beginning of the “shutdown” published opinion polls, the majority of respondents President gave Trump all the blame for the budget blockade. However, in a published this week Huffpost-YouGov poll, most Americans see the responsibility is now the newly elected Congress more than Trump. While the Republicans cut worse than the Democrats, but the “Black Peter”, at least according to this survey, not is now up to the Congress, primarily to the President.
The “Shutdown” spigelt the deep division of the country, such as Steven Schupak finds
The theologian sees Hinds. While there he Trump the blame for the “Shutdown”, but after coming to power in the house of representatives now, the Democrats have a duty to end the budget blockade soon. “I’m sure that there could be a compromise,” he says. “But both sides have stiffened now, as to your positions, I think, unfortunately, that this will go on for a while.”