Zander's Inside Voice

The recent development with Biden’s classified documents discovered at multiple locations is really pissing me off. I was equally pissed off about Trump’s documents, Hillary’s server and emails, and every other time an elected or appointed government official has mishandled information. It’s not ok when ANYONE does, no matter what political party they happen to belong to.

I’m sure most liberals want to throw the book at Trump and most conservatives are foaming at the mouth with this Biden development. I handled classified information on a regular basis for 20 years. Sometimes I questioned why something might be classified and was told to shut up and accept it. We all knew things were overclassified to a fault at times, especially specific spaces in coalition airspace. If we classify specific airspaces above a partner country’s level, how the hell can we expect them to know where they can and can’t fly?!

But I have seen people’s military careers ruined over making simple, honest mistakes with classified information. Things like a small paper with a couple notes that would make no sense to most people, but if you know what it was talking about, you could make sense of it. I was a student and then an instructor at one of my military training schools. Students are nervous enough about having to perform for instructors. Then they have to provide a classified briefing. If their mission goes well, they are so excited that they may forget they have these notes in their pocket. That kid might be forgiven. But not the kid who performed poorly. You did a crappy job preparing and now you can’t be bothered to take care of classified information? YOU ARE DONE.

But politicians seem to be above it all. They don’t have to ensure they hand in briefing notes or classified documents. Do they become so used to having their way that they just toss around classified papers in their offices? Why are they not held to the same standards as “ordinary” military people? Why do they get off the hook so easily?

I started watching a documentary about Ghislaine Maxwell yesterday and finished it up today. Then I started watching a multiple-episode documentary about Jeffrey Epstein. And what strikes me the most is that rich people get away with so much more than average people. Police and prosecutors won’t arrest them until they have as much information as possible. It took so long for anyone to believe Jeffery Epstein was doing horrible things to underage girls and women. And now I wonder how many politicians don’t bother to handle classified information properly. How many in the past didn’t bother to lock it up?

The more I see how there’s so much privilege in being rich, born to the right family, or being all of those things plus being white, the more I get angry and feel so frustrated. How can anyone not born into these circumstances get ahead? I think about professional athletes who come from nothing and put their bodies and lives on the line for entertainment. They have the ability to earn a lot of money from playing their sport and also from endorsements and commentating once their playing days are over. But think about it, they still have to put in the work to achieve that level of success. Rich people are born into this world where they don’t have to do much of anything. Some do work hard, but some don’t do much and just let their last name do all the work.

Don’t be fooled. There is no meritocracy. You will either sacrifice yourself to achieve your goals or you will not be like Donald Trump, Elon Musk, or any other rich person who was born in it. Sometimes one of the average people finds a way to bust out of their average world and become rich. The majority of us won’t. That’s the sad reality of life. We will always be subjected to the laws that the ruling class writes for us but doesn’t hold themselves to.