Serving on a committee is a foretaste of Purgatory, if not Hell, itself. All committees are begun by an authority who decides: “We need to set up a committee.” The reasons for a committee are always the same:
1. No one wants to take responsibility.
2. Opposition must be neutralized.
3. An illusion of meaningful, co-operative, bi-partisan effort needs to be provided.
4. A controlling power needs to be masked.
5. Underlings must be kept busy.
Once a committee is set up, four kinds of participants appear:
1. Some sincerely want to serve. They actually want to be part of a bigger decision-making process without going to all the trouble of obtaining public office.
2. Some want to gain power, prestige, and more material benefits.
3. Others are assigned to the committee to be sure that only the “right” decisions are made.
4. The bored and resentful, some of whom actually have better things to do.
Those who are assigned to the committee are, one way or another, in charge. Their main job is to be sure that the committee “does the right thing”. Another of their jobs is to find committee members who can be used on other committees.
Each Federal Reserve Bank, for instance, may have half a dozen layers of committees, all of which exist to rubber-stamp policy decisions. Loyal committee members “move through the chairs” as their fitness for higher committee service is evaluated.
At the end of the day, those selected for the highest committees may rest assured that they are the most obedient of the hundreds of people considered, but not selected.
Their “integrity is unquestioned”. They are also able to give the impression that they feel the committee is “doing important work”.
If, for one reason or another, we find ourselves on a committee, we should get off it as quickly as possible. Fortunately, many committees have a policy requiring that frequent absences require removal from the committee. Miss several meetings, and then say, “I have to abide by the rules and remove myself.”
You will save endless hours of involvement and effort on what future years will show to be an utter and complete waste of time.
