Closed for business. Well, partially. Closed is the current reality for more than one-quarter of the government of the United States of America. For more than a month, these agencies have experienced some closure:

• Federal Aviation Administration
• Department of Agriculture
• Food and Drug Administration
• State Department
• Justice Department
• Commerce Department
• Department of Homeland Security
• Customs and Border Patrol
• Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• Transportation Safety Administration
• Secret Service
• The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Treasury Department
• Internal Revenue Service
• Department of the Interior
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Department of Transportation
• Department of Housing and Urban Development

These agencies have been forced to furlough employees because their budgets failed to receive congressional approval on time causing the paychecks of nearly 800,000 employees to stop. To add insult to injury, portions of these agencies are deemed “essential” to national security and are forced to work without being paid. For the first time in American history, a branch of our armed forces, the US Coast Guard, is working without pay. The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security, so it is not budgeted through the Defense Department as the other four branches are.

At the basement level, one issue is the reason for the shutdown – security. The president is telling the American people a crisis exists at our southern border. The American people have been made aware the nation is not safe due to the flow of illegal drugs and undocumented immigrants into our country. He has said to the American people that we need a wall built along the southern border at the cost of approximately 5.7 billion dollars which will make us safe and solve the security issue. Those on the other side of the aisle do not see things the same way and have refused to concede to this request. Since both sides could not compromise on a spending bill, the government of the United States was allowed to shut down on December 22nd partially. I am certainly oversimplifying this for there are other issues to be considered, but I think you get the picture. I want you to keep the matter of security in mind as you continue to read.

Back to those furloughed workers. If the shutdown continues through Friday, January 25th, those 800,000 employees will miss their second paycheck. The stress and strain of this financial burden will negatively affect these families if it has not done so already. Concerns that mortgages, insurance, medication, child care, college tuition, and other monthly bills will go unpaid must be at the forefront of the minds of these furloughed workers. While some may have been prepared for something like this, it is likely many were not. Before you say, “They should have been better prepared for something like this,” I have a question for you, “Are you prepared for something like this?” Could you miss two paychecks, two Social Security checks, two retirement checks, and life go on with no hardship or long-term ramifications?

The majority of the 800,000 furloughed workers remain at home while a smaller portion must continue to work; including agencies that are high-risk and involve overwhelming levels of responsibility: TSA, FAA, CBP, and ICE, among others. Imagine the personal stress, worry, and concern those who must continue to work carry with them to the job as if nothing is wrong. Yes, the livelihood of their families is always with them. Yes, the likelihood of this stress could lead to distraction.

Who needs a distracted air traffic controller in the tower who is responsible for managing America’s air travel worrying about being evicted from their home? With my wife flying to Japan next week, I don’t.

Who needs a distracted TSA agent whose responsibility it is to prevent harmful and potentially destructive substances from boarding America’s airlines to be worried about not being able to provide medication for a sick child? With my wife flying to Japan next week, I don’t.

Who needs a distracted FAA agent whose responsibility it is to maintain inspections of airplanes ensuring they are safe to fly to be worried about losing their place in a daycare program for their children because they cannot make payment? With my wife flying to Japan next week, I don’t.

Who needs a distracted US Coast Guardsman whose responsibility it is to protect America’s coastlines from illegal drugs to be worried about how to provide food and other basic needs for his/her family when headed out for six-month deployment? America doesn’t.

Who needs a distracted CBP/ICE agent whose responsibility it is to enforce immigration laws and maintain security along our borders to be worried about paying college tuition for their son/daughter? America doesn’t.

To add further insult to injury, these furloughed workers must come to work every day and be verbally abused by an angry public who have been forced to stand in long lines and experience longer waiting periods for services due to the government shutdown. I can only hope they see the vital nature of their jobs concerning the security of our nation. They do not deserve this. America does not deserve this. If the reason for this shutdown boils down to security, I will submit to you that we are in many ways less secure as a nation than we were before. This is an irony only Washington, D.C. could create.