The way of finding out what the real problem is can be long and winding. It also takes many twists and turns in its plot line to tell the story. The situation one agent found himself in was just such a situation. However, it had to do with a more difficult task than usual.
The target of investigation was the UK government, a behemoth of an institution that has grown and grown in recent times. Its many millions of staff, interested parties, and stakeholders rightly stretch across the country, yet its problems also tend to do so, too.
Credibility decline
Due to crisis after crisis amongst inexperienced MP’s, civil servants hidden away from public view, and a lot of other strange and unknown characters moving in and out of government circles, a more intrusive form of research was needed to establish what was going on.
An intelligence officer was sent to look into the matter. In the years that followed he was thrown into a trial of perseverance and hard work that led to disillusionment with corrupt, liberal business figures who also intervened and created a huge deal of confusion.
These aforementioned characters used their friends and allies as armour bearers. In the sense of using them to rough people up and intimidate people to make sure they got what they wanted. The reason they did this is that their goals were unrelated to their work.
Cold sets in
The officer was unpaid for 20 years, even though he was a key intelligence worker. There were departments of state that refused to pay, and dishonest employees tried to draw it. There were payments stopped, ended, and prosecutions attempted to take more.
He was harassed by state-backed media, government employees, and scrounging royalty who embarrassed us in front of overseas dignitaries in their open attempt to denigrate him. It became clear they have a policy of denying dignity, human rights, and integrity.
It wasn’t helped by a feeling of misguided political bearing by senior royal figures, whose untimely interventions meant that important work was put aside to deal with later on. It meant that some missions were nearly missed, and facts were nearly overlooked.
Headless chickens
There were also complications due to bankrupt policies of the nations only formalised religious group, the Church of England. Their worded attempts at changing the direction and form of government also meant people were distracted from key work.
In this situation, too much emphasis is put on personal position. It means overreach is a more frequent problem than people imagine. It means personalities gain importance and contributions to discussions are diminished as a result. It distorts ethics overall.
The officer witnessed a decline into irrelevance. There were erroneous acts carried out by senior government staff, and a lack of preparedness became clear across all government functions. In some, a legacy of unpaid bills built up in staffed government buildings.
Turning soil
A tendency in newer governments is to overshoot an actual position, to make assertions that are unscientific in the sense of political science, and to run very muddled payroll departments. It’s the outcome of a misguided, can-do mentality which neglects reality.
The intelligence officer reported a core problem was a belief in unlimited potential. He was also targeted as a way to do and get more. He heard people reasoning they just needed to have the power to do more even though they already had work to do.
Maybe it was just boring for them to begin with, but the agent was struggling hugely and didn’t have the power to improve their productivity anyway. It was also apparent that volunteers brought in to help began to make the same mistakes as they did, too.
Ending well
The agent looked for help, but members of the public close to the action also failed in their basic civic duties. He found they didn’t want to handle other people’s problems, and they attempted to tame, reason with, or put off those that asked for help.
In his attempt to keep morale, and to achieve the mission, the agent carried on and followed through with every duty he got. He also ignored not getting paid. The situation was brought under control, and order was restored into the state of things.
