An open letter to America from career federal civil servants
Two career federal civil servants wrote an open letter to Americans, saying that they’re not enemies and they serve their best interests.
Dear fellow Americans,
We are your career federal civil servants. We work for you. We risk our lives on foreign fields of battle, supporting military operations. This includes helping to prevent friendly fire accidents and reducing the risk of harm to innocent civilians. We keep an eye on countries and terrorists that wish us harm. We risk our lives protecting you and your property as members of law enforcement and fire services. We head into disaster areas to assist in your recovery. We help farmers and ranchers put food on your tables. We are your emissaries in foreign lands, representing the best of American values to include enabling the delivery of health care, medicines and food to the poorest of the world’s poor. We fight for your employee rights, including workplace safety. We enforce the laws of the land and help facilitate justice by supporting prosecutors and judges. We ensure your prescription drugs, food and drinking water are safe. America is the recognized world leader in cutting-edge medical research and technology because federal employees provide and oversee federal grants to our top medical research universities. We ensure that highway projects are designed and finished with your families’ safety in mind. We ensure our sovereign airspace, waterways and railroads are safe for commerce and travel. Our scientists and engineers help launch marvels of technology into space and help maintain the orbits of the constellations of satellites that keep us connected, informed, entertained and get us safely to our destinations. In America, we minister to the poor, sick and hungry as social workers and medical staff. We provide medical care and treatment to our veterans because that is America’s obligation to them and their families for their sacrificial service. We ensure your Social Security and Medicare benefits are paid. We maintain and preserve the natural beauty of our national parks, monuments and forests for your recreation, respite and wonder. We make sure your lakes, rivers, seashores and the air you breathe are safe and clean. We help hold private industry accountable when they fail to look out for our health and welfare. We facilitate responsible commerce by regulating the banks, insurance companies and commodities and equities markets so that you continue to prosper. We back mortgages so you can afford to buy homes for your families.
We are your neighbors, friends and family. We attend services with you at the same houses of worship, and while there, eat with you at the same table. We come from poor and well-to-do families from all backgrounds. You may have met us serving as doctors and nurses tending to your elderly and combat-wounded relatives in your local communities’ veterans’ hospitals and clinics. We chat with you on the sidelines of our children’s sporting events and cheer with you when your child makes a great play. We volunteer our time and talents for and donate money to the same charities and causes you support. We are your children’s chaperones during field trips because we care as much for the safety of your children as our own. We are members of your neighborhood watch, serve and distribute food at local food banks and missions, and serve on the boards of our local homeowners’ associations and the PTA. We proudly fly the American flag in our front yards just like you. In short, we are you.
We have taken a solemn oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Therefore, valuing the sacred trust and the responsibilities you have vested in us, we are disheartened that many of you think we are part of a plot that works against your interests. Most of us heeded a call to serve because we love this country and what it represents as much as you and wanted to give back. The hard work we do, we do on your behalf. When you doubt our commitment, please keep this in mind. The most important thing we do is to keep the federal government operating so you can continue to reap the abundant blessings of everything our great country has to offer.
Please treat all with dignity and respect by taking the moral high ground. We are not your enemies. Let us get back to civil discourse and compromise. If we can do that, our country will continue to flourish as the beacon of hope and liberty it has been since its founding.
Sincerely, Jane and John Q., public servants
Disclaimer: The authors are career federal civil servants and wish to be unnamed out of concern for retaliation. Our opinions are our own and do not represent the official views of our agencies or the United States Government. However, we believe the values expressed by us are also yours.
Copyright
© 2025 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
