I recently attended a local event in which we had some state representatives present a bill that was aimed at securing pension for public workers. At this event, I kept internally cycling all the woes and complaints I have as a teacher. In my mind, no one has it worse than me. Yes, I know, “boo hoo.”
Though I kept my complaints silent, others did not. A public assistance worker stood up and voiced her frustration that her specific profession was not acknowledged in the presentation, and you could feel everyone else tense up, because, of course, don’t we all want to be specifically acknowledged? It can feel as if no one seems to know or acknowledge how hard we have it.
However, in a humbling turn of events, it became very apparent that the weight of working for the public extends far beyond what I was aware of or acknowledged. When you are a public worker who works for and with people, you see the sides of humanity that others get to pretend don’t exist, and that’s a burden.
Public assistance workers, while trying to get support to disadvantaged people, witness people die before they ever receive support (the number of people dying of malnutrition is continuously increasing). Public school teachers are made aware of just how many kids come from traumatic situations (more than you’d like to think) and have the burden of trying to make these students feel normal and respected, even if the outside world refuses to offer them dignity.
First responders see and hear the real-life “Final Destination” moments that we all pretend only happen in horror movies. Our public health workers put aside their judgements to work and save people who are beaten, broken, and often causing harm to themselves and others. And what about the people sacrificing their safety and well-being to ensure we have safe roads, forests, cities, airports, etc.?
To be a public worker is to live in the space between gratitude and grief. We are grateful for the chance to serve, but grieve for the cost it takes. We are asked to absorb frustration, extend compassion, and hold the line when no one else will. If the measure of a society is how it treats its people, then, by golly, public workers are the heart of this country.
Donica Nash
Soldotna
