This is my badge…
I came across a fun email from an ex-coworker and friend at a privious company shortly after that company changed it’s badge policy to be, shall we say, “more strict”.
mercy!!! have mercy on me!!! i wore my badge in the *shower* this morning! I AM A MAN!!!! I AM NOT A NUMBER!!! I AM MORE THAN MY PLASTIC CARD!!! [sounds of scuffle and beatings] [electro-shock therapy] [nine-hours of charlie **** harranguing and multiple e-mails later] ...i will wear my badge with pride... This is my badge. There are many like it, but this one is MINE. My badge is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My badge without me is useless. Without my badge, I am useless. I must swipe my badge true. I must wear this badge straighter than my enemy who is trying to kill me. I must prove my identity before he assumes mine. I will.. My badge and myself know that what counts in war is not who we claim to be, the quality of our work, nor the meeting we call, We know it is the counter hits that count. We will hit... My badge is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strengths, its parts, its accessories, its tag, and its lanyard. I will ever guard it against the ravages of weather and damage. I will keep my badge clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will... Before God I swear this creed. My badge and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. So be it, until there is no enemy, but PEACE.