If you don't understand rulebreaking, politicians or the federal government shutdown, try playing a game of Monopoly.

Play the way President Clinton and the GOP freshmen would play. First, locate your area of special interest € maybe all the red properties, or the four railroads; perhaps if you're a highroller, Boardwalk and Park Place. When the opposition buys a propert y you want, offer to trade. When they refuse, say, "Fine," turn your back on them, wait for them to come to you. When they do come, sneer at their offer and proclaim that you are unwilling to bargain. Fight over the trades. Continue moving around the boar d, playing Community Chest and landing in jail, blaming your opponents for preventing you from making any real progress. When you're tired of arguing and circling the board and calling your opponent "stupid" and "stubborn" and "scum-sucking dogfaced hooch ie," flip the game board upside down, mix up all the play money, take your marbles and go home.

This is the story of the American government: a series of childish antics performed by skilled, recalcitrant and highly paid professional pranksters. And the joke's on us. When Americans vote, we usually select leaders who demonstrate an unwavering belief in their personal and political convictions, one who reflects our own beliefs and ideals. Yet ideas must be accompanied by action € without action they are dead. The only way for our convictions to become part of our laws is through mutual bargaining bet ween those who have the power to bring the ideas to life. Unfortunately, our leaders have chosen to take the government hostage and let our ideas die, rather than exchange a small section of their detailed blueprint for the right to build an actual monume nt.

The federal shutdown has demonstrated that today's government is not remotely based upon the ideals and principles of constituents, but rather on the agendas and passionate causes of self-serving politicians who claim to serve us. The Republican freshmen, who offered cocksure guarantees that they would produce a balanced budget, buckle and cringe when faced with the prospect that they may have to surrender some pet projects to make good on their promise. And the President who promised tax cuts, who campai gned as a moderate with a focused yet flexible vision, refuses to budge on any issue which would mean sacrificing his social utopia-in-the-works.

What our politicians fail to recognize is that Americans, while diametrically opposed on issues like education, abortion, the environment, and the welfare system, generally agree on one simple principle: compromise. We know that sometimes, compromise can be the most significant tool for advancement € without it, power and influence are squandered, and progress is sacrificed because of the hubris of our leaders. We know that the ability to compromise can save a marriage, strike a business deal, or help an overwhelmed parent and an independent teenager both retain their sanity.

Now is the time for our leaders to relinquish personal pride and hammer out a compromise for the good of the country. We realize that in the budget battle, the budget remains the least important factor in the equation. We realize that the struggle is not about the intricacies of bargaining but about the egos and antics of our leaders. As thousands of Americans lose jobs, salaries, and livelihoods, the politicians on Capitol Hill insist on continuing to stage their power play, with the Constitution as thei r sketchy rulebook and 50 states full of pawns to bend to their will.

Since our politicians adore children's games, let us teach them a new game to play. Teach them how to play puppets. Tell them that the puppets only say what the puppeteers tell them to say, and not the other way around; tell them that without the puppetee rs, the puppets don't exist. Then tell them that they are the puppets.

And if they don't like it, then they can take their marbles and go home.

Jessie Fillerup is a music education junior.