“You’re out of touch/I’m out of time/But I’m out of my head/When you’re not around.”

These lyrics make up the chorus of Daryl Hall and John Oates’ 1980’s smash hit “Out of Touch.” Ah, good times. This song was released in 1984. I was a senior at Thomasville High School then. I played that song on the cassette player in my car every morning as I drove to school that year. Hearing that song on the radio this morning brought back a lot of awesome memories for me. Sadly, the lyrics for “Out of Touch” could easily be applied to the current state of political ineptitude here in America.

Five percent. That’s the approval rating for Congress at this moment. Five percent of Americans probably find a root canal to be an enjoyable experience. Five percent of Americans may prefer sardines to a steak. Five percent of Americans might debate whether rain is actually wet. If five percent of our citizens believe that Congress is doing an acceptable job of carrying out the people’s business, simple deductive logic states that 95 percent of Americans think that Congress is doing an unacceptable job. That five percent approval rating is the lowest ever recorded. We the people are virtually convinced that most of our congressmen and senators are out of touch.

Have you heard about the two-tier voting system that Republican legislators are pushing for implementation in Arizona and in Kansas right now? I must admit that this initiative of theirs is a nuanced, complicated system of voter disenfranchisement. In their proposed two-tier system, everyone would be legally compelled to prove their citizenship before they could exercise their right to vote at the polls. Those people in possession of the state-mandated voter ID documents (passport, gun license, driver’s license, et al.) would be allowed to vote in all elections. However, those people of color without the necessary documentation or voter ID would be relegated to the second tier — meaning that they could only vote in federal elections. Think about that. In other words, the second-tier citizens of Arizona and Kansas would only have the right to vote in presidential elections and gubernatorial elections. These are held once every four years. Second-tier residents of these two states would be totally excluded from voting in local elections and on ballot referendums directly affecting them. Dr. Evil from the “Austin Powers” movies would be impressed. Naturally, several other states with a Republican majority in their legislatures are closely monitoring Arizona and Kansas’ progress so that they can quickly follow suit. Separate and unequal? Check and check. Definitely out of touch.

Over the past few days, we’ve begun to see the emergence of default deniers. This group of daydreamers — Republicans all — are trying in vain to perpetrate the total falsehood that America’s Thursday default on her national debt wouldn’t be such a big deal. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said there’s “no such thing” as a debt ceiling. Excuse me? In an interview with the New York Times, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) opined that America could use the money it’s saving by shutting down the government to pay its debts. According to Sen. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), all this doom and gloom about what would happen if America didn’t pay its bills for the first time ever is “hyperbole.” Huh? GOP Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), along with Reps. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), Justin Amash (R-Mich.), and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) were quoted as saying the impending debt default is either fearmongering, a vast left-wing conspiracy, an imaginary crisis, Obama’s fault or all of the above. Shenanigans. Where were these guys exactly five years ago, at the beginning of the worst fiscal crisis in America since the Great Depression? If it’s not a big deal, why has default never happened in our nation’s history?

Right now, the Republicans are blaming the government shutdown they deliberately caused on the president. They’re blaming the fact that we cannot pay the death benefits rightfully due to the 26 military families who suffered their loved one being killed in battle since the shutdown began on everyone but themselves. I suppose wreaking irrevocable damage on both America’s economy and the global economy is their cost of doing business. Well, that cost is far too high. This is much bigger than Obamacare. This is much bigger than obstructing an American president. This is about life and death, prosperity or poverty, democracy or plutocracy. Every U.S. president since 1917 knew that. Why can’t my Republican brothers and sisters see this, too?

Folks, Thursday is coming. They’re out of touch. We’re out of time. We’re out of our heads with worry. And our own congressmen — the folks who created this enormous mess — aren’t around.