Friday, January 27, 2012

A Drowning Allegory

Saving Private Fido: "At this point, I took out my cell phone and called 911. Dog rescue not being its line of work, the dispatcher referred me to Animal Control. Animal Control, I soon learned, only controlled animals from Monday to Friday. This was a Saturday. I explained that, without AC’s intervention, this dog would surely drown. I was told that the pup had better keep swimming until Monday.

If I ever needed reminding that the words “compassion” and “government” should never appear in the same sentence, this was it. Although individual employees may have good instincts, actual compassion is a job requirement in no government office I know of. If an employee’s good heart survives union restraints and bureaucratic imperatives, it is a miracle worth celebrating. There were to be no miracles that Saturday at Animal Control."