Working for a large company

I'd always heard the phrase "I'm just a number" but I've now become one of those numbers and I must admit to agreeing to the sentiment.
I do realise that the only way to be recorded and tracked in a very large company is to be part of a numbering system but it does little for your feeling of self importance or indeed your general state of mind towards the company.
There are incessant emails delivered daily from the mothership in another country highlighting what has recently made news and the latest health and safety initiative to be launched does little to assist your daily routine and usually increases your apathy towards the company.
I'm of the opinion that you need to be a certain type of person to want to be part of such an association. Some people are suited to working in a large company as they see an opportunity to move onwards and upwards and these people are usually the ones who cannot be trusted. Others, like myself, find it difficult to settle alongside those high fliers as they are want to apply a certain amount of derriere osculating and I have never felt comfortable doing such a thing.
This probably stems from my first ever job being a firefighter in the RAF. The firefighter element of the career was in itself a difficult start as it involved very long periods of inactivity and this leads to innevitable idleness. This is hardly an ideal pre-cursor for a life of hard work.
The RAF factor merely encouraged me to detest and rebel against authority. I have always had issue with any situation that could result in you being locked in a jail for expressing your opinion. I came close on too many occasions and decided to apply for voluntary release before my 9 year contract had completed.
This mindset has had great effect on my life. I am to this day unable to conform to the status quo without venting my own and sometimes controversial opinion. Why is it controversial? Well anything said out of place in a large company is by definition controversial. Large companies are generally safe beasts, rarely venturing into risk and frowning against those who would suggest alternatives. It is best to be seen to re-invent an old idea than to offer a radical new approach. New ideas are viewed with sceptisism and mistrust and do not conform to what is known.
Where does that leave me? It leaves me alongside most of the population, dissatisfied with thier jobs and praying each day for an escape of some sort.