Just because something isn’t going to affect you doesn’t mean it won’t impact someone.

That was something I learned during a quick weekend trip to Georgia to celebrate my brother’s birthday.

My brother is an Air Force veteran currently stationed at a base in Warner Robins. His neighborhood, although not on base, could be described as a military community. That’s why Friday’s sequestration deadline is really beginning to scare some of them.

We’ve seen this coming for several weeks and even months. Our president made a point of traveling the country and warning citizens of the pending cuts—which will cease more than $82 billion in federal spending.

While we don’t know exactly what will be cut, it’s likely that our military will take a hit.

I picked up on that this weekend. Whether it was in a casual conversation with my brother and his friends or in a prayer request on Sunday morning at his local church, people are concerned.

I’ve even heard a few families describe this money that will be cut as their “livelihood.”

All because congress can’t agree on anything.

I’ve heard the political spin for weeks. I’ve heard cutting $82 billion isn’t that big of a deal because of how much this nation spends each year. I’ve heard that federal workers could use a cut. The fact of the matter is, this is not smart.

It’s not smart business, it’s not smart politics and it’s certainly not a smart way to treat people who do very important things for this country.

We should be cutting extra spending and programs that don’t work not federal institutions that play a crucial role in our country’s safety and prosperity.

Democrats want to add revenue; Republicans only want to cut spending. The honest truth is that this isn’t the issue to wage a political war over.

Real people are going to be affected by this. People that protect our country, people that educate our children and people that keep us safe.

We need a solution to this problem, but my fear is we aren’t going to get one.

I hope, at least for my friends in Warner Robins, I am wrong.