It’s nice to know that our President has fulfilled at least one of his campaign promises, that is, to build his wall.

It may not be the border wall he spoke of but is, in fact, a wall that splits our union into two. It is a wall that keeps our country from running effectively by keeping the people from working together.

On one side you have the Democrats, on the other the Republicans, each waving their colors like two rival teams, hell-bent on getting their way.

We have been drawn into this dispute, choosing a faction, and bickering with whoever dares to claim allegiance to the opposition, and the shutdown has made this more obvious than ever before.

Both parties have long since opposed the other, but it is now, in the wake of the longest government shutdown in American history, that we can see it has fallen upon us, the union, to make this country run again.

The opposition between the two parties has overshadowed their initial purpose, to compromise.

There is no longer a right or wrong side, there are only two sides that are both causing near irreversible harm to the people, and we are supporting it.

Our government shutdown over a short term funding bill, and yet we have taken the initial cause, the border wall, and used it as a catalyst to spark debate over countless other matters, when in fact our focus should be on getting those in power to re-open the government, and furthermore, to work together as our founding fathers intended.

Our country is built on compromise and yet we go outside and argue with a neighbor who can’t feed their children simply because of their political affiliation.

We bicker with those who are on the brink of losing everything they have simply because we blame their party for the shutdown.

No political party paid for the nearly insurmountable wall of financial and emotional obstacles that Trump has created, we did.

Payment is not just limited to the money countless families are losing because of this shutdown. In continuing to support one side with no compromise in sight, we have turned a blind eye to the repercussions that come with that divide.

Trump has built his wall between the people, and no matter what side you take you have helped to build it.

We have reached the point where coast guard families must resort to selling personal belongings, even their cars, in order to support their family. A community in Montgomery County, Maryland, had to hold a citywide potluck because families could not afford a simple dinner.

We have paid for our disharmony with our children’s cries of hunger, and with the tears of our broken families, and we will continue to pay unless we, the base of this country, can work together to get those in charge to learn from these events.

We must let it be known that we can’t and won’t tolerate another shutdown like this, because this attempt at helping the people is only increasing the divide between them.

We cannot be dragged into yet another civil war, because though it may not be fought with guns, it will cost lives. These arguments on the street may very well erupt into brawls.

The shunning of people who support the opposing party may one day soon become separating yourself from them altogether, and in turn, groups separating from groups, and factions forming.

It is up to us to tear down the wall our President has created between us, to stop waving red or blue and to start waving red white and blue.

We were once one nation, with liberty and justice for all, and all of you are urged to work together with your fellow Americans to restore that unity.