Bureaucracy Inaction

I'm just a ray of ******* sunshine.

In psychology, Freud no longer has as much influence as he did back in the heyday of psychoanalysis. Most undergraduates and high schoolers have heard of his ideas about the id, ego, and superego, and he is justifiably part of the history of contemporary psychology and psychiatry. One thing that he has given us (and which has developed over the years) is the idea of defense mechanisms. These are designed as ways of coping with unpleasantness, either within oneself or in one's environment. Denial and projection tend to be familiar to most people - the former, well, if you know pop culture you'll understand the reference.

"No, it isn't!"

And projection is, well, when you take your own faults and suggest that they are really the problems of other people.

Regardless, one of the most fun of the defense mechanisms, in my ever so humble opinion, is reaction formation. In reaction formation, one's words and actions are the polar opposite of one's true feelings and desires. It is frequently a cause of some of the more strident forms of homophobia - the closeted figure is the most vocal in his (it tends to be his) objections and threats.

I offer this as an explanation for what follows. As you are probably aware, I moved down to Louisiana. Well, Louisiana is not terribly keen on maintaining the licensure and registration of vehicles belonging to imported folks such as myself, and so, I spent Friday at the Department of Motor Vehicles, in a vain effort to secure a Louisiana license and registration, as my car needs to be inspected by the end of the month, and the mechanics won't touch the damn thing until it has all the right stickers and plates. Fair enough. And this leads me to the reason for this post.

I love the DMV. ^_^ SQUEEE!!!

I love the DMV. It is a model of efficiency. It also does not embody backwards bureaucracy. It makes sense that they would be willing to accept a check for registration costs, but not for a driver's license. It makes sense that the nearest ATM would be at a corner store a block from the office. It also makes sense that the fee would be $21.50, which is an amount most ATMs will allow you to withdraw. It definitely makes sense that this would also necessitate another two hour wait. There most certainly were not people missing more teeth than a shark produces in its lifetime. There most definitely were not myriad and competing odors of uncertain origin. Everyone at the DMV realized that sounds carry beyond their cell phones, and therefore did not carry on conversations that were far better whispered in an empty bar, rather than broadcast to everyone waiting. It most definitely made sense to have a numbering system that gives you no inclination where you are in the queue. I was number 324, so it makes sense that a random selection of individuals who were selected before me were 123, 051, 052, 143, 651, 652, 423, etc.

I enjoy the fact that I have to contact the Pennsylvania Dept. of Motor Vehicles this week to secure a copy of my title, so that I can repeat all of the above *before* getting my car inspected prior to the month's end. I repeat: I love the DMV.

Alles Gute.