Public service is a great deal more than the ways the government assists people in need. It is what makes a republic work because it is the system that exists to address the needs of all. To truly understand why public service matters, in fact, it is helpful to consider how a society would function without it. In plain terms, the society with no public service in place is the society that relies on nothing but a commercial framework. Income would then decide everything: opportunities in education and employment, police protection, legal rights, and medical attention. Those who could afford to pay would have these services and advantages, and those unable to pay would be grossly deprived. Some people today feel that there is still too much of a class system in place in the U.S., but the lack of public service would define class in ways going back to the Middle Ages. Only those with money could live decently, and even be safe from the dangerous elements in the society. Public service, then, is the effort and commitment that actually creates the modern, civilized society because it is based on an understanding that all people are entitled to basic rights, services, and protections.

As this commitment makes clear, public service matters in a variety of important and practical ways. It seems extreme, but fire departments are examples of public service at work because they are one means by which a community cares for all who live within it, regardless of background, income, or any other individual factor. The same is true of police departments and emergency medical care. These agencies represent public service because they reflect the civilized understanding that all people deserve basic attention when in need. The public services are a way of reinforcing democratic principles. If people do not live in “equal” ways, they are still human beings and the responsible society is obligated to care for them. Even the armed forces are an example of this practical side of public service, as they directly go to protecting the lives of all.

At the same time, public service exists on so many levels, it is often not seen as such. For example, government actions regarding environmental protection are very much public service at work. When the courts amend laws to ban discrimination in employment, public service ethics are behind the changes. The same is true when schools are built and funded by taxes, because the general public is providing learning for every child in the community, regardless of their parents’ income. In all of these cases, there is a common element: the society as a whole is working to address the needs of those less able to obtain services for themselves. It is the active appreciation of the government and the people of the fact that society cannot call itself civilized without taking care of all who live within it. As these cases also show, it is the appreciation of the fact that all people deserve opportunities to learn and to work, and to live in a land that is not abused.

Lastly, and apart from what public service actually does, it matters because it represents an idea that is vital to a republic. It exists as an expression of values that are the foundation of the society, and nothing could matter more. In practice, public service seeks to attend to the needs of all, but this cannot happen without the society’s firm belief in what gives it meaning to begin with. This means that public service is the essence of the society. It reveals that the people are committed to equality, and to preserving human development with no regard for any of the differences between them. In a very real sense, then, public service is the literal effort of the society to live up to the principles that define it.