It perpetuates its existence by covering things up. If it gets caught, it intimidates. My daughter next sent the request by overnight mail and placed a postage paid overnight envelope within so they could send it right back. Her perception was that they would recognize the envelopes, the original form, understand the urgency, and expedite the processing. She assumed that the people in a bureaucracy care enough to do a job properly and that the government agencies exist to provide a responsible service.
Perception is as perception does.
For example, consider the national shortage of spoons. Even mentioning it creates a perception that it is an international reality. I began to realize when my children were young that there was something going on with spoons. One day we had a full set of spoons in the utensil tray. Over the next year or two, we realized that there was a spoon shortage.