Public Service Ethics and Hypocrisy

I want to point out there is no greater honor then public service. Serving the American people is the greatest honor that can be bestowed on a citizen. Public servants owe the public and themselves the best effort each and every day. We should spend limited resources wisely and do our duties as charged under the law.

While serving the public is a blessing working with management is a bane. The government is frequently run by political hacks and self promoters. The notion of counting a task and creating false numbers means more then doing our jobs properly. Management is rife with nepotism and cronyism at alarming levels. Given the levels of stupidity and nepotism in management it is difficult to give 100% but we owe it to the public each and every day.

There is a jerk who violated the essence of service. While working for the government one has a duty to protect certain secrets and techniques. Thus if I discussed the legal mechanics of how a fraud case should be constructed this is not violating a trust. However, if I discuss how the government gets data it is a violation of a trust.

The saddest part of this scandal is how the public doesn't grasp the reality of the limitation of data. One would think that one could use this data to make more effective decisions. However, there are strict rules about fishing for data. The rule is do you have an official need to know in the course of your job duties. It is a common sense rule. Does my looking at the records of driver Maury have anything to do with my job as contract specialist. Unless Maury is bidding on a contact his privacy has been violated.

There are some that view the latest turncoat as a hero. Betraying the confidence of the people you were hired to protect is not heroic.

If you want heroes look in your community. The single mother working two jobs to feed her family is a hero.
The ex Wall Street exec driving a cab to make ends meet is a hero. The kids who take their studies seriously
and work hard are heroes. The truck driver delivering your produce, the merchant who greets you with a smile and person that gives you directions when you are lost are all heroes in their own way.

Live your life honestly. Respect others. Work hard with pride because there is no excuse for lack of effort.
Help others. Be a good friend and Citizen. Be a great parent and relative. These are the traits of my heroes

It is humbling when a person interacts with me and calls me a hero. I am just a dedicated public servant accorded the greatest honor in the country serving the American people.