I’M FINE, THANK YOU
There comes a time when you are tempted to allow yourself to entertain the thought that the people you care about the most don’t feel the same about you. Those are the moments when you thought you could go to the reservoir of goodwill and make a withdrawal only to discover that what you are holding is a dud check.
Now, it’s not that people are unaware of what’s going on American soil. The turmoil in the US government is breaking news everywhere. All over the world, everybody is watching the news and people are following the unfolding drama in America.
In fact, armchair experts in politics, economics, trade, immigration, international affairs, and theology from diverse political ideologies are knee-deep in the mud of the social media fever swamps duking it out all day long over the merits and demerits of the policies of America’s new king.
Yet, for some reasons, people in my orbit, my own very people, don’t seem to be able to make the connection between the events they are watching on the news and how those events impact the life of their friend. People I call family and many I consider friends can’t even make the link between events in Washington, DC and their buddy who works in Washington, DC.
Other than a few good men and women such as Dr Modupe, Pastor G, Abisico, Niyi, Rose Periwinkle, Akunne, Dupsy, Adetayo, and Okey, who were thoughtful and kind enough to reach out, nobody else bothered to find out how this guy is coping with the chaos and confusion that’s going on in the US government. As they say, it is well.
Nevertheless, I’m going to give you the situation report all the same, even though you did not think to ask. In spite of the fact that it didn’t occur to you to check in, I’m going let you know what’s going, nonetheless.
As many of you know, I’m a full-time employee of the United States government. Since the last couple of weeks, my work life has been turbulent. And that’s putting it mildly. From the upper echelons down to the bottom of the pecking order, everybody at work is in the dark and nobody is sure what's coming. There’s confusion and uncertainty everywhere.
In his infinite wisdom, the imperial majesty of the US government has decided to send all federal workers letters offering us the option of deferred resignation. If you accept the offer, they say you’ll get your full pay and benefits for the next eight months, even if you stopped working the moment you drop your resignation letter. Those who choose not to partake in the charade are told they are not guaranteed continued employment. We all have until 6th of February to make a decision.
Besides the carrot of deferred resignation that’s being dangled in front of us – which, I must confess, looks very tempting – I’m otherwise not personally affected, employment wise, at this point in time. However, there are a number of my colleagues who are contract staff to the US government who have already been furloughed because the renewal of their employment contracts has been put on hold. These are hardworking men and women, with families to take care of and bills to pay, whose lives have suddenly been upended by the inanity going on in Washington. My heart breaks for them. I can’t imagine what they are going through right now.
Much worse than the threat of losing our jobs, though, is the senseless disruption to the important work we do here at my job to advance the cutting-edge science that informs the care and treatment guidelines for the health and well-being of not just Americans, but of people across the globe. Many of our work have been put on pause, and we are now in a state of limbo, not sure how to proceed.
Floods of executive orders and conflicting directives are pouring from America’s Aso Rock. It’s impossible to correctly interpret them in order to logically implement them. As a result, our default position is to just put everything on standstill until further guidance is received. Far greater than the uncertainty of our jobs, what me and my colleagues find most exasperating is this lack of clarity on how to proceed with the critical work that we do here.
So, with fingers crossed and bated breath, we are hoping for the best but at the same time preparing for the worst. More than anything else, we are praying that these power drunk psychos to whom Americans have decided to hand over the steering wheel of their destiny will just agree to take their medicine so that this nightmare will be over, and we can all go back to doing good work for Americans and the world again.
In conclusion, my profound gratitude goes to the few good people who reached out to me in this dark hour. May the Almighty God send you encouragers in the time of your own distress.
To the rest who didn’t think to check on me I say, “I’m very fine, thank you for not asking.” Consider this situation report as proof that I hold no grudges against you. I perfectly understand. Everyone has got their own issues they are dealing with.
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