Thanks to those who serve

We all owe a hearty “thank you” to those who run for public office and, if they win, spend many hours working on matters important to us all.

Yes, their egos provide a lot of motivation but it benefits us all that the resulting discussion on issues of public concern gets them resolved one way or the other.

Those who serve on assemblies, legislatures and public bodies of one kind or another — including Congress —do so on our behalf as well as their own. Despite popular belief that being in politics can make you rich, few really achieve such results and most of those who do still devote many hours dealing with matters important to us all.

They also must travel and spend many days and nights in places like Juneau and Washington, D.C. And some of the issues they spend their time on would bore many of us to death, but that goes with the job. Frequent boredom is the price of whatever glory and financial reward is associated with holding office.

I’ve occasionally given thought to running for public office — but never for long. I would much rather stay home with my wife and dog, do my writing and spend time with my friends and extended family when I can.

There is a lot of interesting challenge with serving in public office and the jobs attract a lot of good people. Sure the positions also attract some jerks but the constant public attention tends to weed most of those out. The less desirable types tend not to stand up too well to the voters’ unending focus.

I know this version of the office-holders job is not what most of us hear most of the time. But generally people will admit that serving in a job requiring unending public scrutiny is indeed a sacrifice and worthy of our thanks. That kind of attention on an ongoing basis would cause me to sweat up a storm.

The occasions when office-holders can make momentous decisions are few and far between, but the fact that those are a possibility can provide motivation lasting for years. And the near-misses that come between the big-deal issues resolution can come often enough to keep a politician interested for decades or more.

Those who try it, get bitten by the bug and are well-liked by the voters often decide to make politics their life’s work. It’s easy not to notice when a politician is on his or her way to the top, but when they wind up in Juneau or Washington we all know their names. We might or might not have positive thoughts about them on an individual basis, but enough people must hold them in high regard to keep them in office and near the seats of power to enable a successful career.

Those who are not successful are soon gone and we don’t have to make decisions on them again and again. But those who achieve high office must offer themselves on the altar of election and recurring review on a regular basis.

We do owe them a debt, even to the ones we don’t like. If nobody ran for and served in public office our democracy would fail. Fortunately the system attracts enough good ones that this city, state and nation have had viable governments for many generations.

Tom Brennan is an Anchorage columnist and author of six books. He was a reporter/columnist for The Anchorage Times and an editor and columnist at The Voice of The Times.