Will it take a baby being torn in two to end the government shutdown?

For those unfamiliar: in this story from the Bible, King Solomon faces two mothers claiming the same child.

Solomon’s famous solution: cut the baby in half so each mother gets an equal share. When the real mother backs away, willing to lose the baby rather than see it harmed, Solomon knows instantly who cares about the outcome more than winning the argument.

I’m waiting for someone to care more about the outcome than the optics of this shutdown, but all we see on the news is coverage about which side is at fault and which side has the best intentions.

Nobody wants to own their part in solving this gridlock because taking responsibility feels like admitting fault. So both sides wait for the other to blink, and the whole machine stalls.

But if you don’t take accountability for something, you don’t control it. And the moment you refuse responsibility, you give up your power to fix what’s broken.

You become a bystander watching things unfold instead of someone shaping the outcome.

That’s what we stand by at LANDCO NEXA: ultimately, it doesn’t matter who made the mistake. It’s your job to stand up and own the solution to that mistake instead of doing nothing.

I seldom comment publicly on politics, but this issue may warrant a policy that holds Congress accountable, as the private sector does, by withholding salaries and compensation until resolutions are reached.

The shutdown will eventually require someone to make that same Old Testament choice: care more about solving the problem than winning the argument.

Mark Lester, Principal, LANDCO NEXA