This theory is sometimes referred to as “Government’s Political Correctness.” Here’s the predicament:
The tribal wisdom of the Plains Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that “When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount, then get another horse.” However, in Government, more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:
- buying a stronger whip
- changing riders
- appointing a committee to study the horse
- arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses
- lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included
- reclassifying the dead horse as “Living-impaired”
- hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse
- harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed
- providing additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse’s performance
- doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse’s performance
- declaring that, as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses
- rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses
- (and, the choicest strategy) promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position
Government officials will also look to the root causes of the predicament before taking any action, i.e. what kind of parents it had, the horse’s colour, his socioeconomic background, perhaps the horse was bullied, or his mother was single, etc.
It is no wonder that, for some time now, government workers’ saddest refrain has been: It’s been so lonely in the saddle since my horse died…
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Chris George provides reliable PR & GR counsel and effective advocacy. Need a go-to writer and experienced communicator? Call 613-983-0801 @ CG&A COMMUNICATIONS.
