Monday, September 06, 2010

A letter to the PM........

Last night, as I had NO signal on the TV at all - thank you large tree opposite - I decided to write a letter to the PM. The Prime Minister. Why, you may well ask. Well, I am sick to death of being passed around among the incompetent minions in every sector of officialdom, and decided that I needed to go straight to the top. The real top. So I wrote him a 5 page letter, including a reference to the fact that I thought tea at Downing Street would be rather nice, but that I have too much to say and that I would need longer than any scrap of time the PM could afford to spare, seeing that he is very busy running the country and getting rid of the deficit. Not to mention the war as well. And the new baby.

Mind you, I also suggested that I needed to chat to the Health Secretary, the Home Secretary, the Education Secretary as well as the PM. In fact why not just go ahead and call a Cabinet meeting instead. I would be quite happy to address the lot. I have plenty to say.

Sigh.

No, it will never get posted. What I had to say was not for some lowly Downing Street lacky to read and file away. Nor do I have any desire to speak to my MP who doesn't even know this village exists anyway. But it was good to put it all down on paper.

You know, a friend said to me not long ago, that if I were to outline the events of the past 4 years as a book proposal, it would be tossed out because it was too far fetched. Unbelievable. My friend was right. I don't write about a tenth of what has happened. It looks like fantasy when it is all there in bullet points, and let me tell you, the 5 pages consisted of 3 pages of bullet points. Just imagine how long my letter would have been had I expounded in detail on each of those bullet points. (I like the words "bullet points". Sharp and to the point. Prodding.)

However, it would serve all people in positions of authority well if they scheduled time into their diaries to talk to ordinary people. It is so easy to become detached from the real world when you live in ivory towers. So easy to see the numbers and not the people behind each number. I am not a statistic. I am a 56 year old woman who has learned the hard way that mistakes cost lives. Bureaucrats cover up mistakes. People lie. Things get lost. Delete buttons are pushed. Words are twisted. Hands are washed. Forms are intrusive and degrading. Idiots man the phones. Computer errors are not corrected. Numbers don't add up. Delays cause untold damage. Lawyers get rich. And time passes and you wait and wait and wait, and nothing happens.

I ended my letter with this:

"It is cold down here at the bottom of the chasm, you know. And like in crevasses in a glacier, no-one can actually hear me shouting from the depths. "

Maybe I should post it after all.

7 comments:

Crystal said...

You should send it! Maybe it won't help and maybe no one will do anything - but just imagine if one little piece of good came out of it! The next question that comes to mind is what would you like to have happen? Can you imagine the possibilities of that? You do know that I must say these things when the title of my blog is "be the change you want to see", right?!! I'm just saying, LInds and you must be the one to determine what is right for you. ((( HUGS ))), my dear friend!

P.S. I sound like the devil's advocate this morning - must be all the time spent canning fruit :)

Vee said...

I vote for sending it and posting it here. You can add a courtesy copy notice on said letter.

CC: All of Blogdom (a very big place indeed)

I agree with you, saving some real time for the "little people" would be a very good thing for all leaders everywhere.

Oh, does your local news have a reporter assigned to complaints as some stations do? I used to love ours, but it's gone now.

Fran Hill said...

Go on ... send the letter.

Kelli said...

If you don't, I will.

Dawn said...

Send it! With a copy to each of those you mentioned. And to the newspaper, and the t.v. stations. Go for it!!

Olson Family said...

I'm with those above - send to PM, MP, news and TV. Blog it?!

I agree with your previous post too - Universal Thanksgiving day (still trying to understand the "bank" holiday system). Most Swiss neighbors/acquaintances think this is a great holiday. They are most impressed with the fact that it seems important to all Americans, regardless of religion etc.... That so many of us spend it together with family & friends, we eat very 'traditional' food and as I explained to my neighbors "please don't think it rude but the TV must be on during dinner - football game (and with the time change it's the only time to watch it)." It's a time to give thanks for all we have - we are so blessed.

Sorry to have missed you in Switzerland and glad you had a great time. I'm hoping to get over to Engelberg before the snow cometh but....me-thinks it's coming early this year. :) S

Linda said...

I am proud of you Linds and think you should send it. Even if one of the lowly minions reads it first, I think (knowing how well you write), it will be passed on up the line.
Bravo!!