Terry Flanagan: The Plight of the Public Servant

Back in the days when I used to ride the train to work, there was a bit of interesting graffiti in the vestibule of one of the coach cars. It said something like, “Even coach cleaners need a little love." Beneath that plaintive appeal for some appreciation, someone had scrawled the words “Nobody loves a coach cleaner." I remember thinking, wow, that’s cold. Just how despised must a coach cleaner be that even this simple lament is met with such uncompassionate rejection?

It’s possible that this was all some inside railroad humor. I don’t know any coach cleaners or whether they are as despised as the graffiti would imply. But I do know a number of people who are members of a profession that gets even less respect and appreciation than the lowliest coach cleaner—public servants. At a time when it’s common to believe that government is the enemy, it is all too common to question the motives and dedication of the people, many of whom are our friends and neighbors, who choose lives of public service.

It’s not just the Tea Party that has become anti-government. Almost everyone you talk to seems to think that “we the people” is a quaint concept that does not really apply to our government anymore. Government by definition is corrupt, interfering and self-serving. Mistrust of government extends from the federal levels down to local government. School boards, park district boards, library boards and city councils are all suspect, despite the fact that most of these positions are thankless, non-paying or low-paying, and subject to strict rules of ethics.

People serving in these positions are regularly pilloried for their decisions and accused of failing to do what’s best for the public. They are threatened and cajoled, yelled at, and reminded that they have a duty to follow the taxpayer's wishes, whoever that particular taxpayer may be at the time, because they work for the taxpayers. Some critics feel that this sort of abuse is just part of the job and that public servants should not expect to be treated otherwise. They ignore the fact that public servants are also human beings and deserving of the same respect that we should all have for one another. The ugly nature of political discourse today is rooted in a lack of mutual respect.

Some of us also have the wrong idea about representative government. Representative government does not mean that our representatives do exactly what each constituent, or even the majority of constituents, want them to do at any given moment. When we elect people to represent us, we should expect them to study the issues as we would in their position, to make the concerns of their constituents known and to take those concerns into consideration, and to come to the best possible solution. Not just the most popular or the most expedient solution.

I’ve never been elected to public office, but I have served on a jury. And in some respects the situations are similar. When you serve on a jury, you are expected to set aside any preconceived notions that you may have and just consider the facts of the case. Most jurors believe it to be their solemn duty to render a decision based solely upon the evidence. They don’t think about what the most popular verdict would be. They are honor bound to hear the facts and make the right decision.

I think most people take that obligation seriously, which is important to the effectiveness and fairness the jury system. The people in the courtroom are not privy to the jury’s deliberations and they may have their own ideas about what the verdict should be. But the jury represents the public and has the responsibility of making the decision for the rest of us. Fortunately the jury always seems to rise to the occasion. And though we may disagree with the jury’s decision, most of us never doubt their sincerity.

I think that deep inside, most of us feel some sense of civic duty. It’s what makes the jury system and the rest of our form of government possible. It allows us to set aside our personal opinions to make decisions for the common good. We just have to have a little more faith in ourselves and the system of government we’ve chosen.

There’s always room for improvement and some of it starts with us. We need to be better informed. We need to vote regularly and intelligently. We need to voice our concerns (respectfully) even if we feel they are being ignored. And we need to become more involved, perhaps even risk vilification and run for office.

Some of us join the PTO. Others join the sports boosters. Some of us join service organizations. Some of us volunteer at hospitals, schools, and churches. Some of us serve on school boards, library boards, and city councils. We all do what we can to help out in the community we love and all of us deserve respect for our service. Fortunately, most people understand this. They know that people in public service are no different from the rest of us. We are all members of the community, doing our best to make Geneva a better place.

Editor's note: Terry Flanagan is the husband of Geneva 4th Ward Alderman Dorothy Flanagan.