Obstructionism for Dummies

Obstructionism is a fancy word that describes a way of doing things where someone purposely gets in the way or hinders progress or action. It's like when you want to go play outside and your older sibling blocks the door, making it hard for you to go out and have fun. In a similar way, obstructionism happens when someone tries to block or interfere with something or someone else in order to prevent a desired outcome or make things difficult.

Imagine you have a group project at school, and you're all working together to create something awesome. But then, there's one person in your group who keeps coming up with excuses or ideas that slow everything down. They may intentionally delay things, make unhelpful suggestions, or refuse to cooperate. That person is being an obstructionist, as they are not contributing positively to the project and are instead getting in the way of progress.

Obstructionism can also happen in politics. Imagine you have a classroom where some students want to have a pizza party, but others want to have a movie night. If one group decides to delay the decision-making process by talking a lot and not coming to any agreement, they are practicing obstructionism. They are trying to block the other group's desire and delay a final decision from being made.

To sum it up, obstructionism means intentionally hindering or getting in the way of progress or action. It's like someone purposefully blocking a path or slowing things down on purpose, usually to prevent something from happening or to make it difficult for others.