A recent post in Colorado Politics suggested that we thank all government workers like we do members of the military. No offense to those who work for the government in non-military roles, but that’s absurd on its face. Don’t get us wrong, please do thank people who do nice things for you, but to equate government service with military service is one of the most offensive propositions we’ve heard in a while from Democrats. And, that’s saying a lot since Democrats took a sharp left turn recently.
Does the author of this piece know anyone in the military?
Here’s some of the nonsensical rationale for this proposed cultural shift:
“It would move us toward creating a culture of love and appreciation for government, with a shared awareness that we are the government–and that our government operations and institutions exist to implement our communal values in the real world.”
What kind of communist manifesto is this junk? Move us toward creating a culture of love and appreciation for government? We can’t stop laughing. Maybe when government isn’t such a pain in the keister, we might have tolerance, but never love, for the government.
But, back to the real issue – that Jason Salzman, author of this manifesto, is equating government service with military service. Here’s where he’s dead wrong.
- Typically, government workers don’t leave their families for months or even years at a time.
- Government workers have better pay and better benefits than their private sector counterparts and certainly better than the military.
- Government workers usually do not put themselves in harm’s way the way that members of the military do.
This line, though, takes the cake:
“The bottom line is, no work is more important than government work, whether it’s in the military, the Capitol, or the bowels of some white office building or school.”
The bottom line is, members of the military sacrifice for their country while the country sacrifices for government workers. The fact that Salzman doesn’t understand that is mind-blowing. Who does he think pays the salaries of government workers? Small businesses and middle class families who surely could use those funds more appropriately.
Sure, be grateful if someone from the government does something nice for you, as you would any person, but to suggest government workers get the same respect as the military offends common sense.