BUREAUCRACY

This element in my life has become eminent lately.

I have been applying for Visas, marriage certificates in 2 countries.

The first event took place in my home country where I had to struggle for 7 months before they would accept my apply for a marriage abroad. Their denials was about minor faults from my side; mainly because I wasn't able to understand their bureaucratic language.

I started arguing from my point of view and soon learned how powerful these institutions can be! They lay the rules completely... If I tell them that they never asked me as a user of their services about their solutions supposed to help and guide me; they simply replied that these were the rules according to the governements law making. I then replied, again, that I was not asked.

But to no avail of course. I tried to apply reason and love by telling them that protocolling could never compete with love. They had no reply to that...

I pointed out to them after their new complaints about my way of applying information, that if they wanted the right information it was already in previous paragraphs. No reply but "correct your information"

In Thailand where I am staying now; bereaucracy is even more rigid. Firstly due to language, as they do not know English and refuse to issue documents in other languages than their own, even when there are foreigners involved.

They even had us reapply due to errors in translations made by their own professional translation bureaus. We (my wife to be and me) had to have it all translated again following the guidelines of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs...

After 8 months we could finally get married. Now I just want to forget about it all...

Still my questions to this kind of abuse from authorities that happens everywhere in the world, comes in the number of thousands.

The first one is of course: "what kind of people would freely apply for a job like this?" The next would be: "What are they doing here and for whom?" and then; "why do they want to control us and why do they look upon as as imbesils?"

I assume their answer to these questions would be that it is for the benefit of us all, but why weren't we included in the legislational processes? As customers and the material they want to shape, we should be implemented into this process.

I can see that protocols and catalogues are sometimes necessary, but I am talking about the processes here. " The Process" was also the name of Kafka's famous novel about this issue...

Now, there are not only Governmental clerks that are sticking their fingers into our lives, but also priests, academics, Gurus of all kinds and causes. I say again: "leave us alone because we know better!"

Here in Thailand I witness every day that government officials; as they call themselves, are having benefits that many others do not have; those who are running privat enterprises and common workers.

This raises other questions of course: "Who are these clerks and betterwissers working for?" For themselves and their climbing up ladders I would say and for the Government who can use this army of clerks against people for their own sakes... Not very nice to their own people

ps... I have noticed that these controllers are very often wearing uniforms and also look ordinary to the point of ludicracy...