I heard this phrase a few days ago, once again, from a colleague. He was bemoaning bureaucracy in the workplace (quite justifiably in this instance, in my view): and then followed it up with the fact that it was all (in this case) the fault of the state government. At this point I took issue with his point -- the fault was as much in our institution's implementation of policies to satisfy some idiotic state laws (of which I will agree there are lots) as it was in the law in question.
But in this instance there were indeed a couple of bureaucracies in place, one governmental, one institutional, both conspiring to make his life a misery.
Nonetheless, his phrase pissed me off immensely. Because I've never heard someone sarcastically say "I'm from MallWarts, and I'm here to help you", or "I'm from BigOil, and I'd like to help you pay for your gas".
Mind you, the ads that we see here in the US from BigPharma, showcasing how many overpriced medications they give away to those who can't afford their inflated prices, do beg for a similar meme.
In many cases there are state and national representatives who do at least try to make things better for their constituents. And they often get ridiculed for it. And many of them pass bad bills --- but instead of ridiculing the institution, how about working to elect better representatives, making sure that they care, and lobbying for better legislation.
Yours, in a spirit of esprit de corps,
N.
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1 comment:
wow, that's quite spirited talk!
You've got a good point.
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