The minute you're working with the government, you're dealing

“The minute you’re working with the government, you’re dealing with bureaucracy, you’re dealing with time lags, you’re dealing with rigidity, you’re dealing with a slow pace.” So declared Bob Simon, a man who understood that the grand machinery of state, for all its might, moves not with the speed of spirit but with the crawl of caution. His words speak of a truth ancient as civilization itself — that when power grows vast and systems grow old, their limbs move slowly, bound by the weight of their own structure. What he describes is not the evil of government, but its nature — the inevitable bureaucracy, the endless delay, the paralyzing rigidity, and the weary slowness that come when order outweighs action.

From the dawn of kingdoms to the rise of empires, the tension between freedom and administration has ever been the struggle of mankind. The first rulers sought to bring order to chaos — to record, to regulate, to control. But as they built their walls of law, they also built walls around the soul of progress. Thus, bureaucracy was born: a creature forged to serve, but which, if left unchecked, becomes the master. It is a beast of endless parchment and cautious hands, of signatures and seals that guard against corruption yet often smother creation. Simon’s words are a warning — not against government itself, but against the slumber that comes when systems forget their purpose.

Consider the tale of the Saturn V, the great engine that carried humankind to the moon. In its making, the brilliance of scientists blazed with the fire of the gods — but the path was not smooth. Endless layers of approval, committees upon committees, and cautious delays nearly strangled the project before its birth. It was only the fierce will of a few — engineers who dared to break through the chains of bureaucratic delay — that allowed the dream to live. When they finally stood on the lunar surface, it was not bureaucracy that reached the heavens, but boldness that defied its pace. The lesson was clear: great achievements demand movement swifter than policy, and courage freer than regulation.

Yet let us not despise the structure itself, for it exists to prevent the folly of haste. The rigidity of bureaucracy can protect against corruption and chaos, just as a dam restrains the flood. But when the dam grows too high, it blocks the river entirely. When systems cease to serve the spirit of their people, they become prisons of process. The wise among the ancients understood this balance — that governance must be firm, yet flexible; measured, yet alive. To govern well is to build a structure that bends without breaking, and to reform it before it turns to stone.

Simon’s lament is, therefore, not despair but exhortation. He calls upon the dreamers, the builders, the reformers of every age to pierce through the fog of delay, to cut the knots of needless formality, and to remind the great machine of its original purpose — the service of life and progress. The world does not move by waiting, but by doing. And though every visionary must at times wrestle with the slowness of institutions, he must not let that slowness infect his own soul. For the spirit of creation must run even while the system walks.

So let this be your lesson, O seekers of action: when you face the slow turning wheels of bureaucracy, do not curse them — outpace them. Let your mind be nimble, your resolve steadfast, your purpose unshaken. Find the gaps in the walls of procedure, and let your ideas flow through them like water through stone. Where rules bind too tightly, bring reason; where pace lags too far behind, bring persistence. For while the system may delay you, it cannot defeat the one who refuses to stand still.

And to those who hold power, remember this: your task is not merely to preserve order, but to keep the fire of motion alive within it. The state that moves too slowly will one day be overtaken by those who never stopped running. Bureaucracy must serve life — not burden it; regulation must protect freedom — not smother it. The world will always need rules, but it will perish without courage and speed.

Therefore, walk with wisdom, and act with urgency. Respect the system, but never surrender your soul to its slowness. For though the machinery of government may grind on in measured time, the heartbeat of humanity — quick, restless, and daring — must never cease. Be the swift spirit within the slow world, and the world will yet move again.