Medical Retirement under FERS or CSRS: This cold and impervious universe

Is there any doubt?  Does the anthropological perspective favor, by fiat of discourse in fatalism, determinism and Darwinian survival instincts, a “positive” attitude of idealized love, charity, human compassion and empathetic piety?  Are we born with such biological dreaminess, only to have it tested, subverted, undermined and callously tortured out of us the remaining days of our lives?

When does reality sink in, that this societal artifice that permeates like the opiate-based perfume that subdues and subjugates, performs its miracle of infamy by disseminating soft and cuddly lies, while the wolves and other predators knew all along that this cold and impervious universe could selectively devour those doe-like looks of naïve repose unsuspecting of the truth that never tells but for the history of scattered remorse throughout?

Caring is but fodder for the innocent, waiting in line to be slaughtered, and only rarely does a collective revolt occur, and even rarer still of a narrative establishing a successful rebellion; but, then, such stories allow for a glimmer of hope for the rest of us.

Each day, each hour and every minute to the second, the innocent are born into this world thinking that they control their own destiny, manage their own fate and determine their own liberty; yet, truth be told, every sector of the world, civilization and universe is already filled, dominated and controlled; like the wizard behind the curtain, we are allowed to believe in an empty hope within the confines of a cold and impervious universe.  Caring is for the weak; empathy is for the innocent; and love is for those youthful eyes that have not yet experienced the callousness of the world.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical conditions prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s positional duties, the reality of having to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits may leave one cynical, less than hopeful, and with a negative eye for the future.  But let not determinism guide the silent soul; there is yet more to life than the experience of age has wrought, and the future may still hold some untold treasure troves, and getting beyond one’s medical condition is the surest pathway towards attaining that goal.

Focus on priorities – of securing a future annuity through the vehicle of a Federal Disability Retirement; of one’s health by having the time to attend to it; and surround one’s self with those whom you love and care for, and the rest will rebut the belief that this cold and impervious universe is all that there is.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

OPM Disability Retirement: Silent lives defying interpretation

Life is a mystery, and individual lives a puzzle untold.  It is the calluses that we develop throughout our lives that diminish our individual and collective curiosity to get to know the “other”.

We are born with a teleological intellect striving to unravel and unmask the depths of human essence; but modernity, technology and the singular focus of tangents often involving prurient asides distract and envelop with unwavering obsessions, but it has gotten worse:  no, not in any violent manner or upheaval of historical significance; rather, the electronic means of texting, emailing, Facebook-ing and other such means – which, if one pauses for just a moment to reflect, is merely a white page on a screen of illuminating blindness where symbols representing communicative ignorance are exchanged through the ethereal conduit of airwaves – give an artificial semblance of comfort that we are still engaging in the essential project of destined human activity:  getting to know one another.

When, in fact, the distance between words and the human touch; the distinction between the beep apprising one of receiving a message and the subtleties of an eyebrow raised, a grimace faintly made or a sparkle from eyes admiring; or the differentiation between black lettering upon a lighted page as opposed to the intonation and undulating mellifluousness of the softly spoken word – these, we are losing as each day passes, unnoticed, unconcernedly, and without any real hope of recovery.

It is, in the end, those silent lives defying interpretation which are lost forever on the doorsteps of unwritten historical accounts, despite the stories never told, the narratives forever undeclared and the characters uncharted because of the mystery of life and the conundrum of human lives.

History, it has been said, is written by “winners”; and if there is indeed truth in such a statement, then its corollary opposite must be similarly true:  unwritten and unknown accounts are forgotten or never written of those “losers”.  But that is only half of the truth; for, there are those countless bystanders who are never acknowledge, but fail to be inserted and included in the narrative of unmarked graves unacknowledged through the accounts of history untold.

We all want to be “significant”; we all want to “make a difference”; and for Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition cuts short a promising career, a relevant contribution to the “mission” of the Federal Agency, or make a difference to an old woman living alone who waves hello to the Letter Carrier as the high-point of her day – filing a Federal Disability Retirement application, whether the Federal employee or U.S. Postal worker is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, may seem like the end of that teleological journey that we are all engaged in.

But always remember that there is life after the Federal workplace, and whether you are an active Federal or Postal employee, or getting ready to take that step to initiate a Federal Disability Retirement application, there are still silent lives defying interpretation, and yours is one of them.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Medical Retirement from Civil Service: “Well, at least…”

Admittedly, any substantive insight into such a conceptual proverb used in everyday life is attributable to the eloquent thoughts of Yiyun Li, in her recently published collection of essays.  Such insights are so deliciously stated, with linguistic content so deftly conveyed, that the undersigned cannot refrain from grasping, grappling and attempting to add onto that which cannot be improved upon.

Well, at least plagiarism is no longer anything more than a forgivable sin, and not even a venial one at that.  The concept goes to the heart of comparing misery and quantifying misfortune.  When faced with a catastrophe, we minimize by comparative qualification:  Well, at least…  As if contrasting a lesser misfortune on a spectrum of possible calamities will pull the pendulum away from the pain and sorrow it has reached, and compel a more balanced perspective and diminish the weight of heartache.  Does such a diminution of personal failure by reducing it to a lesser quantity concurrently minimize the sorrow felt?

To a grieving parent whose oldest child has passed away, while sparing the lives of another sibling or two; Well, at least…  At what point does such an insight fail to achieve its goal?  Would it carry the same weight if 5 of 6 children perished?  Could you still get away with saying the same thing?  What if she is the lone survivor?  At what point on the spectrum of human calamity does such a statement retain any semblance of empathetic import and meaning?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of the positional duties occupied:  Well, at least he/she can file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits…

The fact is, for almost all Federal and Postal employees, that option is the last one they want to initiate; for, most Federal and Postal employees want to continue to maintain, extend and excel in their chosen careers.

In the instance of Federal and Postal employees, however, such a phrase has further significance, in the following manner:  the availability of an alternative in the event that all other avenues of choices become unavailable.  Thus, in such a context, it is not a quantification of sorrow or comparative analysis of choices presented; rather, for Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers, whether under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, it is a mere recognition that, in that unwanted event where a promising career needs to be cut short, there is at least the option of preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, to be filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  Well, at least…

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire