| mySPIN |
 What do you expect?
by Tom Campbell
July 10, 2008
The passing of Senator Jesse Helms and the subsequent eulogies and comments from high and low about the man and his accomplishments beg the larger question of what we expect from our elected or high-ranking public officials.
We call them public servants, so let us first demand that those appointed or elected must understand their role is that of a servant to all the public, not just a handful of contributors or special interests. If you wish to participate in government you must first understand you are subservient to those who put you there. Public service should not be a stepping stone to wealth, power or even higher office but an opportunity to serve.
The public official must be responsive to the people. This requires both listening to the ideas, complaints, problems, and hopes of the people as well as frequently communicating to them. The public doesn’t sit through the endless debates, read lengthy reports, nor involve itself in the deliberations of public policy so the primary way most people judge effectiveness is by how well public officials provide constituent service and respond to them.
Having listened to the people, we want our officials to be leaders in consistently standing and speaking on issues. Politics may be the art of compromise, but we demand that those who represent us will not compromise what is right or wrong in order to gain favor with higher ranking officials or interest groups. It is not reasonable to expect we will agree on every issue, but we deserve to know where the public leader stands.
We require transparency. While it might sometimes be expedient to seek agreements behind closed doors, this behavior, no matter how well-intentioned, leads to suspicion and more of the same. Public officials should conduct their lives, both personally and in office, in an honest and ethical manner. It is understood that no one is perfect, but we can and should hold public servants to a higher level of scrutiny and expectations. Harry Truman suggested you stay out of the kitchen if you could not stand the heat.
The Declaration of Independence, so boldly passed in 1776, talked about the “consent of the governed.” History indicates governments rise or fall, directly or otherwise, by that consent. We give that consent when we trust that those in public service are conducting themselves and our affairs in a manner that is open, honest, and in the best interests of the majority. Public trust is essential.
We strongly believe most of our public servants are hard working people trying to do what is right, but recent history has too many examples of those who break laws, bend rules, and hide behind closed doors in conducting public business. Those in high position who see these questionable acts have an obligation to expose them, if for no other reason than to assure the rest of us that they do not participate or condone in such actions.
We are thankful there are those who have and continue to so honorably serve us. Serving the public is a high calling and the expectations are equally high, but the rewards for playing a role to make things better for others can be unequaled. We pay tribute to those who serve us while also challenging them to live up to the expectations we have of them. |
|
