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The fireworks on the 4^th of July this year will remind me of how fortunate I have been during a long career working as a public servant.  We are celebrating and honoring the creation of an ideal that survives only by virtue of countless sacrifices and hard effort over the past 233 years.  Much of that effort is carried on today by people who work for government.

We sometimes forget that our military forces are public employees, just as most of our fire fighters, police officers, and other people who routinely risk their lives for others and work for some level of government.  I think most people who choose government service do so because they believe they can earn a living wage while doing meaningful work.  I know that’s why I chose city management after working in the private sector for about ten years.  I have friends with comparable education who have made much more money in business, but I have no regrets about the choice I made.

At the same time, I do not find government work to be any more or less noble than employment in manufacturing, retail, or other private business.  Anyone who works hard at honest labor is engaged in an important enterprise.  My family’s income is dependent on people who work in the private sector.  I’ve never liked the notion that one profession or occupation is somehow more worthy of admiration than another.  I’ve even learned to stop telling lawyer jokes, other than an occasional jab at the City Attorney.

The idea that there is some inherent distinction between people who work for government and those who don’t, doesn’t make much sense to me.  I have heard the term “double-dipper” used to describe people who retire from one government job and then go on to work in another.  My father fit that description.  He retired after more than 20 years as a U.S. Navy officer before going to work as a parole and probation officer for the state of Oregon.  During his Navy career, he served in two wars and earned distinction as a brave and capable officer.  My father gave no less to the demanding job of supervising parolees and those on probation in his second career.  He earned a generally comfortable income throughout his adult life, but our family lived in modest homes, rarely took vacations, and drove Buicks or other equally unassuming cars.  My uncle who worked on an assembly line at a GM subsidiary in Ohio made more than my father ever earned in public service.

We are having another big family gathering this 4^th of July where we will be able to show off our newest grandson, Porter Owen Hare, who was born June 29.  I don’t know where Porter will choose to work when he becomes an adult, but my hope for him is that he will find a career that has been as rewarding as mine.  His ancestors and relatives have farmed, built dams, served in the military, worked in factories, constructed buildings, and done missionary work.  Whatever Porter chooses, he has some good examples to follow.