Politics.

“Shoot first, talk later”.

As the United States prepares itself to assume a Roman position of power in world politics, it is easy to understand why global opinion is slowly turning against them. Whether this ultimately makes a difference in their stance remains to be seen. But the effects on the common man is surely setting in.

While not taking an outwardly supporting stand, Americans nevertheless seem happy to take a quiet supporting role. And who can blame them after the tragedy that happened on September 11 last year? Not supporting the current American foreign policy would seem almost like a declaration of apathy at a time when national pride was hurt on their own soil; while supporting it would mean surely sending some of their boys to their graves.

But is being part of the silent majority the answer?

In an odd and unsettling coincidence, a new turn of events within my office seems to parallel current world affairs. The library unit of my company decided to unilaterally devise a new level of red tape. They created new forms whose objective was to track how often producers were asking for tapes (seemingly last minute) within a work day. These forms do not mean that the producers would be able to retrieve the tapes, they were designed to eventually be used as documentary proof of how ineffective the producers were, and how apparently inhibitive their patterns were to the librarians’ work flow. The more they signed their names on those forms, the more they can be seen as being disorganized and unreasonable. They would be signing their own professional death warrants.

For those who have ever borrowed books from a public library, or those in broadcast who have borrowed tapes out for edits, I know what you are thinking. They are a library. And their function should be to dispense materials required by the borrowers. Without the emotional baggage of guilt, nor a feeling that every request is one asking for a favor.

So how does this new move benefit anyone?

That is not so clear.

What is clear however is that this appears to be a retaliatory move against a recent report that their staff shut their workstations down before it was time, thereby not being able to service the production teams. It appears to be a case of tit for tat. One designed to cover their own inadequacies.

This move seemed to have been made without any consensual agreement between department heads, as would have been required for any implementation of new procedures that would affect entire departments.

“Shoot first, talk later.”

It is curious to see how global tension has been shrunk to a microcosmic level.

The same dilemma applies. To support this new move would almost mean giving a stamp of approval on an action that was not given absolute sanctioning by all those affected. By extension it would also mean giving up a level of sovereignty to a department that seems to simply want to assert a sense of power and retribution. A department whose message seems to be “you hurt us, we crush you”. Sounds familiar?

To vocalize any protest could lead to other repercussions.

So what do you do? The same question applies. Do you keep keep quiet and hope things will somehow get better?

There is no magical answer that can be a benefit absolutely everyone. Even on a global perspective, any direction will not yield a total win-win outcome.

Perhaps the only answer is to take it to a very personal level.

In a post dinner mooncake and Maxim’s de Paris session tonight, I was reminded of something.

Flashback.

A room. Basic. Hot. Humid. Baptist hymns blasting on cheap speakers. Standing outside one’s body looking in. A few meters ahead, a white coffin. Just a few steps. With every one heavier than the last. Fearing what will be seen. Reaching the edge, peering down, there is a coldness. Like a slumber that will never end. The purity has been returned to the Maker. And a divide is created. Where once two souls shared one life, only one is left behind to continue the journey.

What became blindingly clear at that moment, is that there is no permanence in this life. For all the joy and sadness, love and hate, nothing will remain and all that will be left is alone-ness.

That recognition truly humbles. And it puts you outside of yourself. And you realize that the only one that you need to decide for is yourself. The decisions you make should hopefully allow you to carry on until you too are returned.

Present.

Any decision or action made, for whatever reason used to justify them, will come to pass.

The United States may go on its manhunts and personifying of human ills, and the library in my company may carry on assuming the position of the victim while implementing strategies that will gain them power over the people they were meant to service.

But when you think about it, whether on a macro or micro level, some people will continue to further their imperfections through their choices.
People will live, die and move on. With their past as their blueprint for their Maker’s final judgment.

For my micro situation, I will set my own blueprint and choose not to respond to what is happening. I believe that by abstaining from following the new procedures may, in an extreme scenario cost me my job. But it will save me my dignity and self worth, something that is a birth right and cannot be measured in externalities and money. If that sounds magnanimous, it isn’t. It is hard to stand up for what you believe in, especially when people will challenge such a decision for their own reasons. But when your time comes, you need to be able to meet your Maker and say, I have not wasted Your efforts and work on me. I lived the best life I could have made for myself in the time You gave me. I lived on principle and faith. And every morning, I can look at myself in the mirror and believe that I have not compromised the values I innately know come from You.

Perhaps this is something World leaders and others engaged in human politics will think about before they embark on anything that affects others. Making small positive personal decisions, perhaps things will be better for it.

End.