In modernity, there is an obsessive fetish to be positive; to ignore negativity; to maintain a smile throughout, and ultimately, to have “happiness” as a goal.
Roger Scruton, the late great English Philosopher and one of those under-appreciated giants of thoughtful intellect, wrote a book about the importance of pessimism, entitled, The Uses of Pessimism and the Danger of False Hope. In it, he argues essentially that pessimism is a characteristic required for survival, and the abandonment of it is a dangerous artificiality which goes against the natural instincts of man.
Rousseau, similarly, cautioned against artificial accoutrements which posed a danger to man’s survival. In accepting and adopting unnatural characteristics, consider what was lost — of a sense of community; of a humanity replaced by selfishness.
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 one’s Federal or Postal job, consider what is lost — was lost — when you pushed yourself to keeping working: Health; joy; ability to enjoy even the least of life’s offerings. Is it all worth it?
Consider preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and consider what was lost just in the struggle to maintain what you have.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill
Lawyer exclusively representing Federal and Postal employees to secure their Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.