I read a comment today that said, “…they can shut down and go away kindly.” It sounds nice on the surface, doesn’t it? Less government, fewer politics, more peace. But here’s the truth no one talks about: when the government shuts down, it’s not the politicians in Washington who suffer. It’s families.

Behind every shutdown headline are thousands of men and women who serve in government jobs. They are not making speeches on the Senate floor or debating bills on live TV. They are federal and state workers showing up every day to keep our country running. They are police officers, TSA agents, postal workers, and countless others who live paycheck to paycheck like the rest of us. When the government “goes away,” so does their income and their security.

These shutdowns are not harmless. They mean missed mortgage payments. They mean choosing between groceries and gas. They mean kids watching their parents panic because work was ripped out from under them without warning. Politicians keep their paychecks, but families lose theirs.

So before we casually say, “Let it shut down,” we need to remember who is actually paying the price. We the people continue to be thrust in the middle of political games we never asked to play.

The government may argue. The politicians may stall. But families cannot afford for Washington to keep treating shutdowns like a strategy. Real lives are on the line.