Friday, September 15, 2006
Keystone cops, bureacracy, and democracy
Lately, some friends of mine were telling cop stories. You know, those funny stories we all collect about absurd encounters we have with cops investigating something at your house, breaking up a party, at the border, at the airport, etc. Generally, it involves the cops being rigid and ridiculous as they bumble around trying to accomplish something that doesn't seem all that important.
I like these stories, but I also like to keep in mind that what we are lampooning in some ways is our selves; our society at large and each and every one of us. I believe that the police, on some level, embody certain necessities in our society. That is their job, their role. I also believe that it's dangerous to embody any one social force or need in one person or type of person. I'm not a cop, and thus have little control of what cops do. I do have some say about what I and my friends do, and I have a belief, perhaps naive, that when our society is able to better embody the necessity the cops represent--order, some restrictions on who comes in and who leaves, certain types of security, etc--then the cops are free to be more human and humane. Do I believe they always take advantage of this freedom? Obviously not (and I'm sure lots of us have stories to share to support this) but, and here's the important part: I believe that cops will usually act more human and humane if they feel that's a choice.
I know this because recently, I've been put in situations where my role is to embody certain forms of necessity: schedule, safety, shelter, food for groups of people. This happens when I go on wilderness. When the group I am with is successfully able to embody these forms of necessesity, I find myself acting like a human being--by which I mean relaxed and fun to be around. When the group does not embody the necessities of the moment, if I am the only person thinking of schedule, safety, shelter, and food, then I become more rigid. I start to resemble the keystone cops of our shared stories.
It takes some faith to act as though you expect the best out of people, and if you do, there are times when you are let down. Still, it is the most powerful way to get the best out of people. So, I think we're all better off if we treat cops like they are in fact human and humane, even though it can be tempting to stonewall and denigrate them. Sometimes, you have to stonewall them or they'll abuse you, and the trick is being able to know these times when they come.
It seems to me that in democracy, bureacracy and ridiculous authoritarianism are the result of creating specific jobs to embody various necessities. I'm sure that in some cases, bureaucracy is the only effective way of dealing with the incredible organizational complexity of something like the self-governance of the United States of America. It gets so complex that we forget that it is actually self-governance. I don't know where the solution lies in the bureaucracy, but I suspect it has to do with collectively embodying certain necessities so that the bureaucracy doesn't have to. I'll leave it at that.
I like these stories, but I also like to keep in mind that what we are lampooning in some ways is our selves; our society at large and each and every one of us. I believe that the police, on some level, embody certain necessities in our society. That is their job, their role. I also believe that it's dangerous to embody any one social force or need in one person or type of person. I'm not a cop, and thus have little control of what cops do. I do have some say about what I and my friends do, and I have a belief, perhaps naive, that when our society is able to better embody the necessity the cops represent--order, some restrictions on who comes in and who leaves, certain types of security, etc--then the cops are free to be more human and humane. Do I believe they always take advantage of this freedom? Obviously not (and I'm sure lots of us have stories to share to support this) but, and here's the important part: I believe that cops will usually act more human and humane if they feel that's a choice.
I know this because recently, I've been put in situations where my role is to embody certain forms of necessity: schedule, safety, shelter, food for groups of people. This happens when I go on wilderness. When the group I am with is successfully able to embody these forms of necessesity, I find myself acting like a human being--by which I mean relaxed and fun to be around. When the group does not embody the necessities of the moment, if I am the only person thinking of schedule, safety, shelter, and food, then I become more rigid. I start to resemble the keystone cops of our shared stories.
It takes some faith to act as though you expect the best out of people, and if you do, there are times when you are let down. Still, it is the most powerful way to get the best out of people. So, I think we're all better off if we treat cops like they are in fact human and humane, even though it can be tempting to stonewall and denigrate them. Sometimes, you have to stonewall them or they'll abuse you, and the trick is being able to know these times when they come.
It seems to me that in democracy, bureacracy and ridiculous authoritarianism are the result of creating specific jobs to embody various necessities. I'm sure that in some cases, bureaucracy is the only effective way of dealing with the incredible organizational complexity of something like the self-governance of the United States of America. It gets so complex that we forget that it is actually self-governance. I don't know where the solution lies in the bureaucracy, but I suspect it has to do with collectively embodying certain necessities so that the bureaucracy doesn't have to. I'll leave it at that.
# posted by JPD @ 9:17 AM 
