I’ve worked in public service positions my entire adult life. Public Service is rewarding in some aspects, but it can carry severe risk. A public servant is subject to whom he/she serves–the people. In the instance of Chris Stevens–the political morass called world politics.

          So why do people choose to serve in the public arena? What compels an individual to risk life and limb, or even reputation, in the struggle to help others. I believe that there is a call on a person’s life that they recognize early on, and this call continues to persist until it becomes reality.

         Public service encompasses many fields and has many applications. On a local scale it is the teacher, counselor, preacher, policeman, librarian, social worker, editor…I could go on. On the national and international level it is the Newscaster, the Senator, the Representative, the Judge, the President, the King/Queen, the Soldier, the Ambassasor… By the term public, the nature of the work is made known, and the implications of the task are defined. To perform public service work you must engage the public and all that term implies. This is where the rubber meets the road.

         Commitment is a strong concept and action, and there are many who cannot commit. This is because committing involves giving over a large part of yourself to someone else’s control. It means serving when your own natural instincts scream “no”. It means making the decision to risk a loss in the effort to lift someone else up. It can span as wide as a neighborhood, a town, a nation, or the world. Over the span of history many public figures have been martyed.

          I salute Ambassador Chris Stevens for the ultimate sacrifice he and others like him have made in the cause for peace. May their effort on behalf of the common good last for eternity to inspire others to also toil to serve the struggling masses regardless of differences in ideology or societal norms.

credit: Momma Cha

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