WHAT IS PUBLIC SERVICE? THIS IS HOW IT WORKS....... It may be helpful to define what public service is before considering how it contributes to a good society. NOTE: Public service is both more and less than working for some government agency or winning an election. That’s because serving the public demands more than simply taking an oath or wearing a uniform. Paradoxically, authentic public service doesn’t require a citizen to enlist in the military or run for office or join the Peace Corps. For that matter, it doesn’t require a person even to be a citizen: There are 31,000 foreign nationals serving in the US armed forces. In fact, as the Wall Street Journal reported last spring, some of the very first American troops to die in Iraq weren’t Americans at all, but rather immigrants like Marine Corporal Jose Antonio Gutierrez from Guatemala. Some expressions of public service are obvious: elective or judicial office, military service, national service programs. Some are not so obvious. The School Teacher. The Social Security official, The police Officer. Deputy Sheriff. The Precinct committeeman. The Librarian The Juror. .....Are all public servants, whether we notice them or not. So what is a good definition for public service? An entry from Merriam-Webster points us in the right direction: Public service is simply “A Service Rendered in the Public Interest.” By that definition, virtually anyone can be a public servant—no matter what his station in life. If an action promotes the public good or meets the public’s needs, it is public service. If it promotes something else or meets only private needs, it is something less than public service—no matter who is performing it. This expansive definition of public service calls to mind Justice Potter Stewart’s wry observation on obscenity: “I know it when I see it.” In the same way, public service may not be easily defined, but we know it when we see it. Simply put, perhaps our concept of public service. —"Focused as it is on Government and Politics"—is too narrow. Consider the heroes of Flight 93, who died so that hundreds or thousands of other Americans might live. They weren’t soldiers or statesmen, but they certainly served the public. Just as September 11 taught us that war is no longer something fought “over there,” it should have reminded us that public service is not something performed exclusively by public officials, people in uniform or politicians. It’s something that every American can—and arguably should—do, which may explain Washington’s numerous attempts to create and enlarge national-service programs. Sagamore > A Nation of Servants: Defining Public Service for the 21st Century sagamoreinstitute.org A first step in that direction is to recognize that anyone can participate in public service.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 14:35:01 +0000
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