Public service

Whatever happened to this concept?  Public servants are people who put the interests of others ahead of self-interest.  Specifically, they put the needs of the people they represent or provide a service to ahead of their own needs.  For example, my wife.  She continually puts the students she helps and her team members ahead of herself, often sacrificing for the good of the students or the team at her own expense.  If she lived in a perfect world, she would be at home raising kids, not providing 18- to 25-year-olds (or older) with the documents they need to graduate.  She performs this essential function despite being verbally beat up on or generally unappreciated by students and sometimes colleagues, despite earning about 10% less than she was three years ago, and despite a drop in benefits that drains our resources even further while exacerbating the burdens placed on people who are sick.  Politicians of all levels could learn a few things from my wife -- that real sacrifice requires persistence and dedication, not just lip service; that taxes are sometimes used to help people who need it, rather than going into some ideological black hole; that people are more important than policy positions.  The federal debt ceiling level may seem like an abstract issue far removed from my wife or this concept of public service, but it's really not.  Government workers, otherwise known as the public service sector, make decisions that are in the best interest of the community every day.  Where would we be without state colleges in this country?  How would your children get a degree?  Not at a private school -- they are out of reach of most people, even with student loans backed up by the federal government.  Without student aid, I wouldn't have been able to afford my education.  Without public servants, I wouldn't have roads to drive on or energy for my home or a thousand other things we rely on every day.  If the federal government shoots itself in the foot with this debt ceiling thing, it not only affects the economy, it further degrades the idea of public service. Our politicians need to rise to the occasion and serve the interests of the community, not themselves.