Keeping the Sacred Flame

There are those that choose to give their lives, either for a time or for their entire career, in the public sector.  They ask for us to vote for them, to choose one over another to give our power to.  But how do we choose?  What do we ask of those that we give power to?

This is not a small decision.  It can seem trivial.  After all, it’s only one vote against the entire system.  It’s only five minutes compared to four years.  And the corporations/special interests/parties rule everything anyway, right?

Wrong.  This is our government.  This is our power, and we have a right to it.  These people work for us.  We are their employers, and we have a right to demand that they work for us and do their jobs.  We have a right to examine their work and be sure they are doing what we want.

And what if we choose to give our lives in service?  This is an honorable task.  It is a life that will forever be rife with compromise and being unable to do what you desire, because one person cannot rule.  But it is honorable to do, if you give in service.  If your goal is power to rule, that is not honorable.  The goal is to serve, not to rule.  Those that wish to rule have no place in a democracy.  And this is not a place to pick someone because we like them personally.  This is a place for those we respect, those that are better than average.  We are giving our power to these people.  Shouldn’t it go to those that are more qualified to hold it?

Questions:
What does service mean to you?
Could you serve the public?  How?  (there are ways other than government!)  Who is your public?
What do you look for in an elected leader?  Why?