Every once in a while this asshole does the Hotline thing in my head, appearing in a puff of cigarette smoke and brutalist architecture, saying stuff like:
âImperfect stewardship does not invalidate the institution.â
Me, walking my dog and dodging a herd of commuters booking it off the metro, âsay again my dude??â
The sentiment resonated with me (no pun intended): Evaluate the institution on its own merits. Evaluate the steward on their own merits. Donât equate the two.
I think heâd have acted differently if heâd known the outcome (who wouldnât?) but thatâs not possible. Leaders make consequential decisions every day with incomplete information.
Watching the Resonant trailer, I couldnât help but think Trench wouldâve been devastated to see the shattered state of the institution heâd dedicated his life to and overcome with guilt at his inadvertent role in its collapse.
And yet, I think heâd have still been proud of his people. Even if all the actions taken in Control and Firebreak, spanning 6-ish years (2019â2026), turned out to be ultimately âin vainâ bc the Hiss etc breached containment, Trench mightâve said the Bureauâs eventual failure does not invalidate the sacrifices made in its service. Heâd probably look back over the decades since 1964, at every action taken by every employee in the service of studying and containing reality-altering objects and forces, and point out that they had kept things functioning.
I can imagine him saying something along the lines of: âWe never know what our sacrifices buy when we make them. And thatâs the bargain everyone who swore their oath made.â
So any ways, I made a quote thingieâŚ
janainaart
jacobvanloon
germansingergirl
2087
origamiaround
theartofmadeline
