Bureaurcracy - A Creeping Menace

One of the pleasures I get from backpacking, or just being in the out-of-doors in general, is the feeling of freedom. To me being away from technology, the interconnectedness of the new world, and the press of society at large allows a burden to be lifted from my shoulders. Out in the wild areas you are beholden to no one. Your schedule is set by the sun and your stomach alone.

In this day and age, the ability to cast aside the yolk of society, even if temporarily, is a huge relief. It just seems that in day-to-day life the bureaucracy all around us is getting worse. I'm not making a comment on Democratic or Republican control of the government either. Bureaucracy is an ever growing phenomenon in our society that involves not only government, but corporations big and small. From going to see your doctor, to getting plates for your car, to trying to get adequate phone service, to making sure you are in compliance with regulations in our parks systems.


Ok, I guess just maybe this post will have a bit of whine to it. Sorry about that, but it is so frustrating to try and play by the rules when either no one else is, or no one can tell you what those rules are or the rules are completely arbitrary. On the government side we have Legislatures passing laws at the Federal, State and Local levels. Because Legislatures have adopted a governing philosophy of not making most laws very specific, they give authority to the Executive branches of government to make rules and regulations. This allows the Legislatures to do two important things. One, any loopholes in the enforcement are not their fault and two, it gives the Legislatures more time to complete other important tasks, like fundraising and campaigning. (We all know that is their main function in society today anyway.)

These executive agencies, at all levels, have people that serve mostly at the discretion of the Chief Executive, be it the President or Governor or local elected official. This results in the rules shifting or being reinterpreted every time the political orientation of the top office official changes. There are literally HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of Federal Regulations alone.

Case in point: Earlier this year my friend J and I were looking to do an extended backpacking trip in the Allegheny National Forest. J wanted to bring a firearm along just for the added protection. I was fine with that and I had, in the past, hiked with people who carried while in the ANF. Of course J being the conscientious person that he is wanted to make sure he complied with the law and set about trying to see what regulations there were on the carrying of firearms in the ANF.

The Allegheny National Forest's website gives the following information about firearms:

Pennsylvania Gun Laws:


To carry a concealed weapon, you must have a protection weapon permit from your county sheriff in PA. If you are from out-of state, you must have a protection permit in your state, and have a protection permit from Pennsylvania. Warren County sheriff will not issue Ohio residents a protection permit, but will issue a sportsmen’s permit that allows concealed weapons for hunting and fishing only. You may bring weapons that are not concealed (hunting rifles, shotguns, side arms). When transporting it is recommended to carry firearm and ammunition in separate areas – (i.e. Carry firearm in the trunk and ammunition in the car.) Target practice must comply with the PA. Game Commission regulations, i.e. no firing into live trees (see hunting license handbook). Target shooting is recommended at ranges set up for that purpose (sportsmen's clubs). We recommend on the ANF using stone pits with a high back wall. Contact the county sheriff for additional information.

Link to Website

We determined from this text that it was not OK to carry a concealed firearm without a PA Concealed Carry Permit, but that open carry was just fine. Just to be sure, J contacted the ANF Ranger's Station. The Ranger he talked to asked J why he wanted to carry a firearm. J told him the truth, for protection from bear or any two-legged menaces we may come across. The Ranger ended up giving J a hard time about this and basically told him that a bear better be chewing on him before he used a gun on one. (Which of course was the idea of having the firearm in the first place.) When J said he accepted that and that the gun was just a precaution and that he was just trying to comply with the law, the Ranger ended up directing J to the Warren County Sheriff's Office for legal questions. J basically got harassed and passed off to someone else. Bureaucracy at work.

J then called the Warren County Sheriff and explained to him what the website said and asked if open carry was legal. The Sheriff told J that no, he could not open carry unless hunting and that he better just leave the gun at home. Fine, I'd expect a Sheriff to say that. Most cops would rather people not carry around firearms. The thing is, both J and I tried to search Pennsylvania Code and could find no real information regarding the legality of open carry. Again, too many laws, rules and regulations leading up to you being at the mercy of the bureaucracy. (On a side note, J has since obtained a PA CCW permit so Warren County Sheriff, nyah-nayh!)

Like I stated earlier though, bureaucracy isn't just a problem with regards to government. Anymore, dealing with any corporation is nothing but an endurance test of your patients. The bigger companies get, the less responsive to their customers they become. Two recent events in my life have made this fact painfully clear.

Four years ago my wife and I had a house built for us. Shortly before we moved in, around about the middle of December, we had a phone line installed. It is an underground line from the road to my house. That year December was an unusually warm and dry month. Later in January though, mother nature caught up and we had a three to four week snow/rain spell. As soon as the ground got wet, my phone line developed a loud hum. (If you are familiar with what a bad ground sounds like on audio equipment, that is this sound.)

For the past four years every time it rains I have had to call Verizon, and now Frontier Communications, and complain about this hum. They come out, fix it and the next time it rains, the hum returns. Rinse, repeat. This past week, we have finally gotten some rain after a long dry spell and sure enough, the hum returned. So I called Frontier and submitted a trouble ticket. Yesterday their technician came out and worked on the line and removed the hum. Unfortunately he also took out my DSL signal. So this morning when I got to work I called Frontier back to submit a trouble ticket for the DSL. The Customer Service woman was very nice and told me "Aw, this happens all the time! The phone techs don't know who is on DSL and who isn't and they move your line to a non-DSL line in the CO. I'll fill out a ticket and get someone out there right away to fix it."

So she starts asking me the normal questions and wanted to know if I was at the computer. No, I am at work.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir, but I cannot fill out a trouble ticket unless you are at your home and can run tests for me. You will have to call back tonight when you get home."

Wait, what?!? You guys broke my DSL, you KNOW you broke it, but you can't fix it because I can't follow along with your little routine? So I asked for a supervisor. The gentleman I talked to next told me the same thing. I went off on him. Just because of arbitrary rules stating that they want me to "perform some tests" when it is OBVIOUSLY not anything in MY HOUSE that caused this issue, they couldn't fix a problem they caused.

Eventually the guy issued a trouble ticket and I did apologize for being terse, but come on!!* Bureaucracy. It is used to replace the individual's need to make decisions.

My final example, I recently bought a car from my dad. He had it financed through US Bank, and that is who I went to for a car loan. Everything went fine and smooth, until it came to the title. I signed loan papers in the middle of August. It is now the end of September and my Memorandum of Title is no where to be found. I cannot get permanent plates on my car until I receive it. The bank keeps telling me it will be coming soon, but I can't get any other information out of them. I am on my second temporary auto tag. According to the DMV I cannot get a third tag unless I fill out a complaint with the Ohio Attorney General's Office. At the time of getting my second temp tag, the bank was telling me that the title process was still 35 days out. My temp tag was only good for 30. (They had already been processing my title for 30 days by then.)

I filled out the form the DMV gave me and mailed it off. The Ohio AG's office called me to discuss my complaint. When the lady figured out that a dealership was not involved, she couldn't get me off the phone fast enough. So now I have the DMV telling me I can't get another temp tag unless the AG's office has a complaint filed, the AG's office didn't file a complaint because it is not involving a dealership and the bank is still screwing around processing my title. The real salt in the wound is that my Dad went out and bought a new car a week after I bought his car from him and within two weeks of his purchase he not only had his title, but he had brand new customized license plates from the State installed on his car.

AUGH!! Bureaucracy!!!!

I can tell you that I am very much looking forward to my upcoming trip to Morrison Run. To be out in the woods and to leave behind this constant struggle just to get things to work the way they should will be so nice. My sleeping bag, my tent, my stove... they all work just like I want them to and I don't have to jump through any hoops or file any forms in order for them to keep me warm and boil my water.

Anyway, I'll have a report on Morrison Run in a couple of weeks. Until then I hope your day's are more stress free than mine.

Take care,
Occasional Hyker

* Side Note: Even though I am bitching about Frontier Communications, I will give them credit. Both of the people I talked to were Americans. In fact, they are West "By God" Virginians. That was one bright spot to the conversations I had. It is nice to see Americans being employed for customer service instead of talking to someone in Southeast Asia who tells you his name is "Bill", but you both know it really isn't.