Wednesday, March 08, 2006
"Little Power Trips"
“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” a rephrasing of Lord Acton’s quote, continues to resound in the minds of those who shake their heads in annoyance when they find that this maxim still holds true in their everyday lives.
I can see this being used to describe famous or rather infamous political or social, national or world leaders, but these days, the saying appears to be more apt in using it to describe the actions of your small to mid-level employee who has the power to put your life on hold. I call this “the power trips of people in mediocre positions” or, even better, “little power trips.”
You know who I’m talking about. This is the surly guy at the post-office who won’t give you your parcel because you lost the slip, but you showed your ID and sure enough, there is a parcel waiting for you in the back-room. Or, this could even be the lady who won’t process your maternity benefit claims because she can’t count and in the process denies you of your legally and validly accumulated pay.
I know what you are thinking – it doesn’t happen only in India, it happens in the U.S. also. I’m sure as a student, you remember running back and forth between the university and the college to make sure your degree paperwork was in order, or, if you travel frequently, you probably make a few trips to the passport office to take care of those little things. Things that are a pain to do, made even more so painful by the little people whose sole aim in life is to follow the rules and where it says sign on the dotted line, to make sure people don’t sign a millimeter outside of the dotted line.
If you were to see these people, they would probably run traffic lights, litter on the streets and would probably park illegally, but at their job, these people are the most conscientious workers ever. “The paperwork needs to be in order,” they tell you sternly. “Go back to the end of the line and fill it out correctly,” they say. All that may have been missing is an area where you may have forgotten to initial, but instead of pointing that out (that is not their job, you see) they send you to the end of the line to figure out why the paperwork was incorrect.
God forbid you question their authority – you will be blacklisted forever and will probably have to relegate yourself to the end of the line automatically, out of repentance for over stepping the line. I remember this passport office in Mumbai very clearly. He wouldn’t let me travel to the U.S. even though I have a green card, because my Indian passport did not have an “ECNR” stamp. Here I am, an Indian national, with an Indian passport, standing in Mumbai airport at 2:30 a.m., bleary-eyed, waiting to get onto the plane and sleep, not wanting to think about the family and friends I’m leaving behind before heading back to my automated lifestyle in the U.S. and this belligerent Indian Customs Official refuses to let me board a flight to my legal country of residence because of an “ECNR” stamp?
Wait – it gets better! What is an “ECNR” stamp you may ask? It stands for “Emigration Clearance Not Required” and apparently anyone leaving India should have this stamped in their passports. It may help to know that the U.S. doesn’t require it. The other option is that if you happen to have your degree certificate with you, just as a happenstance, wondering if you ever need it to impress your fellow bleary-eyed traveler in line, saying “look, I have a degree from Osmania University,” or if you feel the need to let someone else know that you are a graduate and happen to carry it in your back-pocket, then an “ECNR” is not required.
This is one of the many rules that I just don’t understand, but I’m not going to question it. I don’t want to be black-listed by the Indian Customs Department, especially by the little man who feels he cannot let me board my flight without it. If you get only one thing from this article, make sure as an Indian citizen, your passport is stamped at your local passport office with the stamp “ECNR.” There – that’s my good deed for the day.
Getting back to the point – I think psychologically, everyone wants to have power, or be the one who controls other. The politically correct version of this is called “leadership.” All jokes aside, this is something instinctual, a Darwinistic philosophy perhaps, but true. Look at little children playing – one of the kids will have the toy that everyone wants and will refuse to part with it as he or she is getting their first taste of power. Same thing as you grow older. Some people however, let go of it and decide to let the better part of their personalities take over. Others get into little positions of power and start wielding this over an unsuspecting citizenry.
So the next time someone is sending you to the back of the line because of a power trip, smile, shake your head and remember to get the “ECNR” stamp on your passport.
