In defense of government office drones

I think pretty much anybody with a pulse has had an experience like this one. I read it today on my break at work, and it got me to thinking. I've been in Kate's shoes...but I've also been the lady on the other side of the counter, metaphorically speaking. Ever wonder what it's like?

Understand, first off, that I'm not condoning the completely mindless behavior of said drone - Kate is right that a pleasant attitude goes a long ways towards defusing the ire of even the most intractible curmudgeon (and yes, that's my $5 word allotment for today). Been there.

The thing is, what seems on the customer/consumer/voter side of the counter like a monolithic, unchanging bureaucracy is much closer to being somewhat like a member of an army of ants as they march. There's a certain inevitability to it, a pace that you just don't see in the private sector, a grind that keeps moving all the time. Toss into that a lengthy manual of Rules Thou Shalt Not Ever Under Any Circumstances Violate, and For Which You Could Immediately Be Terminated (or at least Harshly Scolded), and then make the manual completely dependent on the comparison of its more esoteric contents with similar manuals at all other levels of government, and the particulars of which are known only unto the Morlocks at Central Office.

Then make all of that Holy Writ completely dependent on both the tax revenue and legislators from various levels. Understand that any or all of the rules you spend literally weeks learning can and do change with little, and often without, notice. Nobody human can ever know all of it and actually work in the field with the public, so they settle for a working knowledge and occasional specialties.

Add to that the public whose default position is cautious, nervous GodIhopeIgetthesedamnpapersfilledoutright, which will instantly change to teeth grinding rage and "Hey, you work for me, I'm a taxpayer, dammit," if balked or made to stand in line 4a for an estimated hour to talk to the guy at window 8, 9, or 10 to learn what else they're going to have to do.

Finish off this repast with a management structure that is more likely than not composed of: a few well-meaning, genuinely sincere public servants that love their job and have earned a position of authority by being exceptional, and a majority of (for lack of a better term) venal, shallow, insecure, vicious adult third-graders intent only on climbing the agency ladder by stepping on the knives they've plunged into the backs of their peers and subordinates. Keep in mind that they'll smile at you when they talk and mean nothing that they say if it makes their life more difficult.

Now be in between all of that and dependent on supporting yourself & your family for the next 15-30 years depending on your age.

Welcome to your Government At Work.