Friday, July 03, 2009

Looking for fairness

It's another observation of the ratification of America's Declaration of Independence – July Fourth – and the weekend, like all the July Fourth weekends in years past, will be marked by fireworks displays, barbecue parties, baseball games and family gatherings, and lots and lots of drunk driving. And, like years past, law enforcement officers will be prowling the highways and roads of America, looking to arrest intoxicated drivers and, perhaps, save a few lives in the offing.
For me, the long weekend represents a layer of frustration and stress fueled by my need to communicate with a government bureaucracy whose offices are closed Friday because of the federal holiday.
Great! The already clogged phone lines and snails'-pace e-mail routes to contact with a faceless bureaucrat are entirely shut down. I've got three whole days to stew in my juices. And then, come Monday, I'll have the opportunity to be put on hold on the telephone for an hour or so in order to plead with a person I don't know and, likely, one who will care less about my predicament than a preying mantis cares about the suffering of its dinner (yes, such people do exist). But with any luck, I'll encounter someone who's reasonable, logical and open to a favorable response to my appeal. But if I'm luckless, I'll encounter one those people whose sole purpose is to deny, deny, deny any appeal for help, justice or fairness from the government. The government that my taxes support. I'm trying to keep an iota of hope in my mind. It's all I can do at this point, although I must admit, I really haven't much hope at all.
And that's how it is in America today.
Happy Fourth of July!