Let me start by saying, this is not a Democrat vs. Republican piece. This is an “administration gone stupid” piece.

These budget games have been played for years. These fights over who knows best have been played for years. But Mafia-style thuggery like this should be left in Chicago, New York, Miami or Boston. I presume they are used to it and know how to deal with it.

The government shutdown, caused by the failure of the Senate to pass a budget in the last five years (read my piece from last week if you need details), should have no effect on our war memorials. If we can keep the president’s golf courses open and Mrs. Obama’s 16 assistants funded, and if we can continue to enter into contracts and pay for guards to protect illegal aliens marching at the National Mall, then we can allow our veterans to visit their war memorial.

Yes, we could have cancelled the march on the National Mall, just like we cancelled some air shows across the country – air shows that demonstrate what American pride and strength look like; air shows that inspire our kids to want to be soldiers and pilots and heroes.

Now, on Oct. 1, the White House ordered the National Park Service to put up barricades around the monuments in and around Washington, D.C. That included the World War II Memorial, an open-air monument normally open year-‘round, with no chains, no gate, ever … until now. Did anyone in the White House stop to think that the brave men and women who most want to visit these monuments, our veterans, were not thwarted when landing at the beaches of Normandy; were not stopped by ground-to-air fire; nor were they stopped by depth charges or torpedoes? Did they really think some little crowd-control gates were going to stop them from paying respects to their fallen brothers and sisters?

Apparently, no one in the White house has ever been in a combat situation to understand the determination of our veterans.

Planeloads of World War II veterans were scheduled to arrive on honor flights to visit their war memorial. Instead, this administration spent money and time to block the monument from those it stands to honor. To call this ridiculous would be a gross understatement.

And let’s not stop at the veterans. The White House is also attempting to cancel the Air Force vs. Navy football game, and the Army’s game against Boston College. It doesn’t seem to matter that service academy athletic programs are self-funded, private organizations requiring no government funds. It also doesn’t seem to matter that by cancelling the Air Force-Navy game alone, those programs stand to lose $4 million.

According to a story in the Capital Gazette, Naval Academy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk said: “We could run our entire athletics program and conduct events as we always do without any government funds. … In talking to the Air Force athletic director, their football team could execute the trip without government funding.”

According to National Review, when the Department of Defense was asked why it was suspending intercollegiate athletic contests if government funds were not required, Gladchuk said he was told it was about “optics.”  “It’s a perception thing.”

Think about this. It is self-funded. That means no tax dollars. The programs will lose millions. And all this current White House administration cares about is perception?

The White House told us health care wouldn’t cost us any extra money and everyone would have healthcare. Yes, they sold you perception.

This president said he was going to fundamentally transform this country to be a better country. Yes, he sold you perception.

Our nation’s founding fathers feared the majority of a mob as much as they feared the tyranny of a monarch, and that’s why they gave us the constitutional system of checks and balances that the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is using today. Minority rights are protected in that document, which makes the position of a president demanding 100 percent compliance proof-positive that he doesn’t understand the document he swore to uphold.

Mr. President, tear down these unnecessary barricades, gates and roadblocks. Quit shutting down programs that have no reliance on government funding. And stop with the lies, the fear and the spin. Our founding fathers were fearful of under-informed voters because they knew it could mean disaster. You seem to feed on misinforming and sometimes even downright lying to the public simply to justify your position. You seem to embrace disaster and thrive on confusion.

Tear down the walls you have erected, stop exaggerating the divisions, and work to unite all of us. Maybe then you’d allow us to be that great country we can be, and once were, again.

Joe Messina is host of The Real Side (TheRealSide.com), a nationally syndicated talk show that runs on AM-1220 KHTS radio and SCVTV [here]. He is also the current president of the Hart School Board. His commentary publishes Mondays.