Our Government At Work

So I had to renew my passport this year.  I sent it in back in September and got it back in February.  Having to get a passport is annoying in the first place (here's a brief history of how they came about; mainly, they were a World War I "emergency" that never ended:  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-passport-became-improbable-symbol-american-identity-180962064/), but having to wait six months for something that should take all of three weeks (anyone piping up about just having to pay a bit extra for the expedited service should shut up now as it's yet another example of how the rich cut lines)--a week to mail in, a week to process, and a week to mail back--is super annoying and yet another example of our "beloved" American government being badly run.  Instead of doing something sensible like run efficiently so the passport process only takes the three weeks it should, the government spends my, and your money (if you're American), tax money doing stupid stuff instead.

For example, they printed up a bunch of flyers recommending that Americans get fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before using the passport and traveling internationally.  I got one along with my new passport.  OK, I know you've likely experienced metric tons of propaganda about how the vaccines are "safe and effective", so I might sound like someone from Mars when I point out that's not the case, but please try to have an open mind.  If the vaccines actually worked, we wouldn't have seen the explosion in cases after the vaccines were introduced (lowering the bar to say they prevent hospitalizations and deaths doesn't cut it) nor would we see all the odd injuries and deaths that have resulted, usually cardiac related and probably a side-effect of the mRNA vaccines (I can cite personal examples, as can you likely, but the number of celebrities getting injured or dying unexpectedly or mysteriously before their time is one that probably all of us are familiar with).

Again, the point of this post is that instead of being efficient and fulfilling their responsibilities properly, the American government is badly run.  Instead of cleaning up their act, the government wades into areas that are outside their (using "their" instead of "its" here to emphasize that the government is made of people who are responsible for decisions and actions and consequences) scope such as an individual's health, or Russia's relationship with Ukraine, or spying on everyone's telecommunications, and so on and so forth.  Given how badly the government performs its own responsibilities, it's easy to see that going outside the scope is typically disastrous (with luck, we won't all be blown up with nuclear weapons in the blunder du jour, the Russia/Ukraine war, and, by the way, here's some background on that you might find a refreshing antidote to all the mainstream media out of context war hysteria:  https://scheerpost.com/2022/02/11/oliver-stone-american-exceptionalism-is-on-deadly-display-in-ukraine/).

No doubt this complaint is an exercise in futility (and I've worked in government so I can testify personally to it being badly run--so is much of private enterprise but I don't pay taxes on that, so I don't care as much), but Uncle Sam, get your shit together!  Once there's no national debt, my tax refund doesn't take six months to get back, I get my passport renewed quickly (if I have to have one at all), you don't waste tons of money doing stupid stuff, and so on and so forth, then we can have a conversation about expanding your responsibilities (I'll tell you likely no then as well, but at least then I'll be willing to hear about it--until then, shut up about it and stay in your lane, as the old saying goes). 

If you need a laugh after your latest interaction with government, then please read Edna's Employment Agency, my latest novel.