Michael Abraham
As I write, the longest shutdown in our government’s history is ongoing. From what I can gather some government employees are furloughed without pay, some are forced to work and aren’t being paid, and some are still working and being paid (as always), including, I might add, members of Congress.
Terminology has emerged to differentiate those categorized in each group, as we’re now hearing about “essential” and “non-essential” employees. A friend of mine blithely quipped on a social media post about an effect of the shutdown, “If nothing else, we may learn what “non-essential” really means.”
This got me thinking about the nature of work. Millions of people in our nation and around the world wake up every morning and participate in some kind of useful work – some even work through the night. So why are some non-essential, or otherwise deemed unworthy?
- Is the janitor who cleans the bathrooms at your child’s school worthy?
- Is the artist who paints portraits for commission sales worthy?
- Is the scientist who studies the expansion of the universe worthy?
- Is the farmer who grows our food worthy?
- Is the autoworker who installs dashboards in trucks worthy?
So to my friend’s assertion, will the shut-down reveal to each us what “non-essential” really means? Maybe, and maybe not. Some may not seem essential, at least in the sense of immediate urgency. But few would not ultimately be needed by millions of us eventually.
- Maybe overworked and unpaid air traffic controllers will do the job they’re called to do the best they can, and no planes will crash. Or maybe some will. Each day, the chance of catastrophe goes up.
- Maybe a massive storm won’t arise when the weathermen are furloughed, and their expertise won’t be needed. Maybe one will. Storms happen, eventually.
- Maybe thieves or vandals won’t see the opportunity provided by unguarded national treasures to do mayhem. Maybe they will. The odds are increasing every day.
- Maybe there won’t be an outbreak of Ebola or Zika or other infectious disease while the folks at the Center for Disease Control are sitting around the fireplace, wishing they could be at work. Maybe there will. Again, the odds are increasing every day.
- Maybe the talented post-doctoral student from Indonesia now studying at Virginia Tech will accept the US government job she’s been offered, in spite of lingering fears of future shut-downs. Or maybe she’ll return home and do her pioneering work there.
We can’t know these things. Maybe we’ll get lucky and there won’t be a catastrophe. Maybe not. We do know that hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans are facing making ends meet without their salaries, through no fault of their own.
Frankly, the entire idea of essential and non-essential government work and workers rankles me. I retain enough faith in government to feel comfortable that whenever there was a job opening, there was a good reason for it.
I trace our common disrespect for government workers back to Ronald Reagan, who in one of the most politically potent expressions of my lifetime said, “Government is not the solution to your problem; government IS the problem.” This quote resonated with millions of people and effectively marginalized the work of people who are employed by the government, because it is not a stretch to conclude that if indeed government is the problem, then the people who work in government are the problem. Thus, we have spawned two generations of Americans to whom government service is not a “real job,” and somewhat unworthy. This also applies to those who work as contractors to the government but not directly on their payroll, people who incidentally will never get back pay.
This, then, has allowed us to significantly devalue the contributions of public school teachers, policemen, IRS accountants, park rangers, National Science Foundation scientists, National Weather Service weathermen, military men and women, and much more.
I am a member of Rotary International, the world’s largest service club. It has four “Objects of Rotary,” the second being, “High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations (italics mine), and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society.” All occupations are worthy!
I hope by the time you read this, the shutdown will be over and all those who work for us as employees of the United States of America can get paid, and get back-pay where appropriate. But I’d like to see new laws passed requiring that Congress must live by the same rules as other federal employees. Then outlaw any future shutdowns. And let’s all change our mindsets and give government workers as much respect as we give anyone else in any useful occupation.
Michael Abraham is a businessman and author. He was raised in Christiansburg and lives in Blacksburg.
