In praise of public servants

March 30, 2024

It was a slow news day, so there is no need to belabor existing stories when we all need a break.

A brief note for the weekend:

President Biden said he would visit the Port of Baltimore to view the devastation at the Key Bridge. The federal government has already sent money and equipment to begin the recovery and rebuilding process, with the Army Corp of Engineers taking a leading role—as it should. See Press Release, Army Corps of Engineers is supporting recovery operations following Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.

The US Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) press release says that the Baltimore District of USACE will coordinate the recovery effort. The press release reads, in part,

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District has activated its Emergency Operations Center, clearing the way for more than 1,100 engineering, construction, contracting and operations specialists to provide support to local, state and federal agencies following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, March 26, 2024.

In accordance with USACE’s federal authorities, USACE will lead the effort to clear the Federal channel as part of the larger interagency recovery effort. Together with local, state, and federal partners, they are working closely to determine the key actions required to remove the fallen bridge.

[The Baltimore District of USACE] spans five states, the District of Columbia, overseas, and the Susquehanna, Potomac, and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. These civil and military missions and diverse engineering services support communities and warfighters while addressing the ever-growing list of emerging national security requirements and ultimately protecting the Nation.

The above excerpt from the press release highlights the Baltimore District of USACE's important role in maintaining transportation, engineering, watershed, maritime, and construction projects in five states and the District of Columbia. That work is vital to the economic health, safety, and security of citizens in five states. Yet the Baltimore District of the USACE operates in anonymity for years on end—until disaster strikes.

The resources and expertise of the Army Corps of Engineers must be cultivated and maintained over the long term to stand ready for the moment of crisis that occurs without warning. That is a wise and efficient use of the nation’s tax revenue. But in the Republican telling, anonymous “bureaucrats” who work in the background to ensure the safety of bridges, dams, and navigable waterways are part of the “deep state” that must be dismantled.

The story of the Army Corps of Engineers is replicated in every town, city, county, and state in America. Honest, hardworking citizens doing their best to keep the streets clean, the roads clear, the water running, and the electricity flowing. And they inspect construction sites, farms, trucks on the highways, manufacturing facilities, and restaurants to ensure that business at those sites is conducted in a safe and healthy manner.

Those public servants are not the enemy—they are our protectors. They make civilized society possible by ensuring that business activity takes place in an orderly, safe manner that gives consumers the confidence to trust the goods and services created by American businesses. That is a win, win, win—and the antithesis of the “deep state” conjured by MAGA extremists to conceal their absence of a platform.

Four days after the disaster in the Port of Baltimore, Donald Trump has yet to utter a word about a tragedy that will negatively affect tens of millions of Americans. Why?

• Perhaps because the disaster occurred in a blue state in a blue city with Black leaders.

• Perhaps because most of the victims killed in the disaster were Central American immigrants working at night to fill potholes in the roadway traversing the bridge.

• Perhaps because MAGA extremists see all federal spending as “theft” from the American people (a curious attitude when, in general, blue states are net contributors to federal revenue and red states are net “takers” from federal revenue).

However, as Trump remains silent, President Biden is speaking out and taking action to clear the channel and restart the flow of commerce through the Port of Baltimore. Their divergent approaches could not be more different. Their response to a devastating accident illustrates why one man is worthy of the presidency, and the other is not.

Lucian K. Truscott IV has published a beautiful essay that touches on many of the themes above. (His essay was published first, so if there is overlap in our thoughts, that is on me, not Lucian.) See Lucian K. Truscott, Being and somethingness.

Lucian describes walking his dog down a suburban sidewalk and watching city workers stop to remove fallen tree limbs from the walkway—which present a danger to elderly residents for whom a fall can be deadly. What follows is a remarkable reflection on the positive role public employees—a.k.a. “the government”—play in our lives.

Lucian writes,

The dead tree limbs littering the streets and sidewalks in the spring are why we have mayors and town councils and county boards of supervisors.  They are part of the reason we pay taxes and vote in elections when they come along.  The dead branches of trees are not going to be picked up by volunteers working for free, any more than our country will be defended by volunteers, or our police officers will protect us out of the goodness of their hearts, or our children will be taught by saints giving of themselves for the betterment of mankind.

Beautiful! Lucian then expands his observation about city workers clearing tree branches to the glue that holds our great nation together. He describes flying into Tennessee last week, breaking through the clouds to see the orderly streets of Nashville below:

They keep saying that our politics is broken and split by disaffection and lies.  But on the ground, the roads and streets still connect the homes and towns and city halls, and somewhere down there, a truck drives through a neighborhood picking up the fallen branches of trees so old men like me don’t end up in the hospital or even worse, in the ground.

Lucian’s essay is an uplifting reflection and a good way to begin the holiday weekend. I highly recommend it!

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More news.

There is more news on Friday, but most of it involves ugliness and threats by Trump directed at President Biden, the judiciary, and our democracy. I will leave it to you to discuss those stories in the Comments section (if you want). For me, they strike a discordant note on Good Friday evening.

The Comments section will be open to everyone on Saturday for as long as possible. Please be respectful and direct your replies to the ideas and opinions expressed by the speaker, not to the speaker’s appearance, intelligence, mother, or other personal attributes. To report abuse, just hit “reply” to this newsletter to identify offensive comments.

Substack is a wonderful platform, but like all social media platforms, there are lurkers and trolls looking for opportunities to pick fights. Fortunately, Substack allows comments to be removed and offenders to be banned (for life). Please help me keep the Comments section safe, thoughtful, and respectful. That said, spirited debate is a sign of a healthy democracy!

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Concluding Thoughts

The destruction of the Key Bridge and the lives lost by public contractors on the Key Bridge provide an appropriate moment to express gratitude to all public servants.

You make our lives safer, healthier, and more joyful. For that service, you are frequently berated by impatient or frustrated members of the public who ascribe to you decisions and consequences over which you have no control. Some seek to demean you by calling you “bureaucrats” or members of the “deep state” when you are American citizens coming together to promote the common good.

Despite the impatience and ingratitude of an exhausted public, you remain on the job to keep the streets clean, the roads clear, the water running, and the electricity flowing. Thank you—on behalf of all Americans (including those who have been fooled into believing you are the “deep state”). You keep America running—a truly remarkable achievement!

Talk to you on Monday!