America Needs a Rebirth of Public Service
Big jolts to our system—from Pearl Harbor to 9/11—have historically awakened a sense of national purpose, demand for government action, and respect for public service in a citizenry accustomed to seeing government as the source of troubles, not their remedy. The pandemic has now placed the country in the middle of another massive disruption. President Donald Trump’s farcical mismanagement of the coronavirus response, on the heels of his push to “deconstruct the administrative state,” has exacerbated the consequences of this disaster and exposed the dangers of that campaign. However, this crisis has also highlighted the dedication and expertise of public servants on the front lines of the pandemic.
If America has any chance to recover, let alone rescue a semblance of unity from the rubble of our polarized politics, we have to heed the admirable examples of these workers and seize this moment to end the
