I have a job.
And it's a good job, folks. It provides a decent living, and although I do not condone the use of uniforms of any kind, it does give me a sense of purpose; there are actually days when I feel I'm contributing to the overall well-being of the world.
I'm thinkin' globally, and actin' locally.
But there are other times, friends and neighbors, when I wonder.....
The organization I work for was created about six years ago, in a state of high anxiety and fear, for the purpose of making sure such disasters never occur here again. We were created in the very long shadow of two fallen monoliths, and the tremendous loss of life; some of those lives particularly personal to me.
I take my job very seriously. As seriously as a person such as I can.
That is not to say that I've completely lost my sense of humor, or my overactive sense of the absurd.
I work for the government, people.....absurdity is just another day in paradise.
But my point: My organization is evolving. In a very long process that continues today and ends sometime around NEVER, my organization is striving to make our workplace a calmer, friendlier place to pass through, in an effort to lower stress levels among officers and civilians, in the hope that when it's calm, we are better prepared to see and hear and feel when things are hinky.
Counter to this is the latest in decor, which is a constant reminder that we were created in fear and hatred, by posting pictures of those aforementioned monoliths, and the reminder that many lives were lost, and that we will never forget.
I know I'll never forget. But I don't have to advertise that fact. And I continue to be appalled at my government, who uses this disaster as a way to extort money, power and pliability from the people of this country. And I'm appalled that my organization continues to parade what is perceived as the single greatest failure of security in the history of this nation as a rallying cry.
I don't want to have to live by the motto, "Not On My Watch."
I would rather live by the credo, "You'll Get My Very Best."
If we're trying to improve our public perception (and by the way, we are actually despised more than the IRS, and that speaks VOLUMES about my organization), we need to start treating people with respect, to do our best to serve the twin masters of security and customer service.
Hopefully, we'll be doing this, starting today.
Tomorrow, at the latest.
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1 comment:
Interestingly, but apparently not uncommonly, my perception of your organization is that you're the only one approaching its mission as you do. I happen to agree that your way is the right way. However, I am skeptical that the organization can do anything to actually keep me safe, whatever that means, no matter how the task is approached. As a country we're a pretty shitty neighbor. We complain about other people mowing their grass and we NEVER mow our grass. We go out on neighborhood watch shutting down other people's wine tasting parties while we're throwing a 6 kegger at our own place. Other people don't like us and I don't blame them. When we poke the bear we deserve to get mauled. Now, unfortunately not everyone in the country is pro bear poking and everyone is tending to get mauled but that's a whole other issue.
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