And wants to stop being treated like a punching bag:
There was a time, not long ago, when government service was seen as a
higher calling. That’s the reason I decided to join the State
Department in 2005 — not because I wanted job security or good health
benefits, but because I wanted to devote my life to making this country
stronger, to making the world a better, safer place and to have a career
I was proud of. Seven years later, I still get excited to come to work
every morning. I still get a thrill when I enter the State Department
and see the flags of every nation with which we have diplomatic
relations. And I certainly get chills each and every time I see the U.S.
flag on one of our embassies. I’m fairly sure I am not the only federal
employee who feels this way.
So to all our politicians, I implore
you: Stop using the government workforce as a political football. Just
stop. It demeans you, it demoralizes us, and it is counterproductive to
drive away the best and brightest from working for the betterment of
this country.
