Dwain Northey (Gen X)

Now that the government has reopened, the champagne corks are flying, confetti’s raining down, and we’re all supposed to pretend this was some great bipartisan victory — democracy restored, compromise achieved, kumbaya around the Capitol steps. But let’s not lose the plot here. The people didn’t capitulate. The movement didn’t cave. A handful — a very small handful — of Democrats decided to throw in the towel for reasons that sound noble if you squint hard enough and ignore the smell of political self-interest wafting through the air.

Yes, they’ll tell us it was for “the good of the country.” They’ll say ending the stalemate was “the responsible thing to do.” Meanwhile, the rest of us can still see the strings being pulled by corporate donors, pundits panicking about optics, and party strategists clutching their polling data like it’s the Holy Grail. It’s not that these few capitulated to reason — they capitulated to convenience.

So while the lights are back on in Washington and everyone’s patting themselves on the back for “saving” the country from another day of shutdown theater, the truth is that the fight never stopped. We still have a system where cruelty gets framed as fiscal responsibility and where empathy is treated as a liability.

No, this isn’t a moment to exhale and go back to brunch. It’s a reminder that every inch we gain in this mess is temporary unless we keep pushing — loudly, relentlessly, and yes, sometimes inconveniently. The government may have reopened, but the fight for a government that actually serves the people? That door’s been left cracked open just enough for us to kick it down again.