Everyday there was a woman I would see, with her nice jackets on, and smoking her cigarette outside on break. She was intimidating, on top, and yet something about her was nervously off. I could see it. Attributed it at first to the stress of her every job functions perhaps. I personally could not imagine having to deal with her personal calendar of events.
But the more I said hello to her, the less she said hello to me. Which I thought was very telling of her character. I began to act as if I didn’t see her to avoid the awkwardness of not receiving a returned hello. Her nature saddened me, so I had to look into this person a bit more.
Her fingers shook as she smoked cigarettes, not the typical smoker shake but the one where there is so much anxiety in someone, it can no longer be hidden. What could she be hiding? I thought. What could be so awful?
As I began researching what this woman actually did for our local community, I was disappointed to say the least. It did not appear as if she had the communities needs in mind or even had a sense of reality. She seemed to be living a life of a wolf in nice clothing, yet no one bothered to question her since she had authority. Which raises the question, who audits those who are in positions of power, rarely having anyone to report to? How long do they get away with corruption until it surfaces and why? No one is immune to the pressures of a job, society, personal struggles, so why are they treated as if they are? No suit, no speech should be able to mask the true nature of a person. And if it seems that is all they are, is an empty suit with little progress, more attention should be drawn to them.
Needless to say, she has been arrested for using a county credit card for unauthorized purchases. If that does not anger you as a citizen, I don’t know what will. My community has suffered tremendously after 2013, buildings are falling apart, jobs are scarce, and it is alarming to know how many people are on some kind of public assistance. This woman took from an already crippled community she took an oath to protect. It needs to stop now and this could very well be the tip of the iceberg. Real people with real empathy, good judgment, good character, need to be in positions of power. And even these kinds of people should be audited quite often. No person is immune to wrongdoing but it is up to the person themselves and those overseeing them to protect the community. Thank you.