How does one quantify a concept? It is where the clash of the hypothetical meets the practical, and the worlds collide in silent discourse of battling combat, no less real than armies charging at one another in abandonment of fear, safety or self-preservation. There are advance scouts that test the strength and durability of enemy lines; of tactical maneuvers to outflank and deceive; and even of repeatedly dying for the hill where no strategic purpose is recognized save the pride of the tattered flag that stands last as the reverberating echoes of garbled yells that reflect the platoon’s pride.
But how does one measure “advantage” and what are the rules of engagement?
The spectrum of that which we recognize is immense and unfettered; good looks and wealth are certainly identified and acknowledged as such that – whether fair or not – allows for it; being of blond complexion was once snickered at as representing less than greater intelligence, but somehow modernity has equalized such a Neanderthal perspective by introducing bleaching and other cosmetic devices such that everyone now can be one and feign to be born with the DNA of Scandinavian ancestry; and of cunning, intelligence and acuity of mind still advances the notion that merit-based societies can recognize excellence such that we bow to the altar of brilliance no matter the petty envy and jealousies we may harbor in private.
Much of the measurable advantage is actually unquantifiable; it is the boasting and the blather of show that places in the mind of others that so-and-so is a person going somewhere, and such-and-such is recognized as the golden boy of prospective potentiality limited only by a future expectation that those who build upon a house of cards are sure to collapse upon the feces of one’s own ego.
The trick, of course, is to create in the minds of others the invincibility of one’s own power and strength; and, this is nothing new, but has been for centuries utilized by armies of lesser strength and wracked with fear of inferiority complexes – but the great generals and leaders of each somehow managed to persuade the opposing command that there was something inevitable, whether comprised of luck, skill or ferocity of efficiency, in the juggernaut of prior successes envisioned.
For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who cower at the thought of bucking the tide, and instead face the Federal agency in a battle of wills by filing a Federal Disability Retirement application, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, the idea to keep in mind is that the people who purport to have “the edge” rarely know the law, and are less likely to engage adversity in the face of an open challenge.
Having a competent lawyer in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application may not necessarily have a measurable advantage that is quantifiable, but in the end, it is the success of getting an approval from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management that is the key to an effective filing, and that, in the end, is the only measurable advantage that makes any difference.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
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