Our Dedicated Public Servants

Thank you to all of our public/civil servants out there; across the country, and across the world!  You don't get the pay, respect, and other compensation, that you deserve.

I've long thought that our public/civil servants don't get what they truly deserve.  I'm talking about police officers, EMT's, firemen, teachers, military personnel, and any others that work for the public good despite low pay, dangerous working conditions, negative effects on personal and family life, receiving blatant disrespect, etc.

I obviously can't speak with authority about EVERYWHERE, but where I live and the other places I've researched, our public/civil servants don't receive even the tiniest speck of the respect and compensation they deserve.

Let me explain.  I'll start with teachers.  Teachers deal with a bunch of kids all day, which in and of itself is laudatory, but in addition, most of these kids are bratty, don't want to learn, don't want to be in school, have little to no respect for anyone or anything, and are frequently downright rude and nasty to their teachers and classmates.  On top of this, public school teachers get paid diddly squat.  I don't know what their health benefits are like, but I'm guessing they're getting screwed there too.  Now obviously, just like with anything else, there are exceptions.  Some kids genuinely want to be in school, learn, and exhibit good manners, respect, etc.  As in any "supervisory" or position of perceived power, there are those involved in that vocation who definitely need to find a different line of work.  But taken as a whole, teachers are deserving of respect, praise, better pay and benefits, etc.

The other group I'm going to expand on are police officers.  Like teachers, police officers work with people all day.  These people tend to be bratty, disrespectful, rude, nasty, violent, etc.  These people also generally don't want to take responsibility for their own actions, and resent being held accountable.  Whether it's a simple traffic violation, or something substantially more serious, most people react completely inappropriately when officers attempt to address the issue with them.  Police officers do this despite very little pay, extremely dangerous working conditions, the strain their job puts on their personal/family lives, and despite the nasty reactions they get for things like writing someone a ticket.  Like teachers, these men and women deserve much, much better than they get.

So to all of you public/civil servants or other folks truly working for the protection and betterment of society, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. 

To the general public, the next time you're in a classroom situation, shut your pie hole and pay attention to the teacher or whomever else might be speaking; you might actually learn something.  The next time you get pulled over, be polite and respectful to the officer doing their duty; maybe even thank them for it.  And if you have cause to have interaction with EMT's, firefighters, military personnel, or any other public/civil servants, be sure to thank them as well.  We all owe our lives and much more to these folks.