Dr. Stockton wrote:
One of my memorable students wrote these thoughts about being a federal worker. She gave me permission to share it.
My Perspective as a Federal Worker
Over the last two weeks, nearly every day, the two million of us in the federal government have received email after email from the Administration degrading and devaluing us, belittling the work we do. Many have been removed without cause, and the rest of our positions are threatened.
I have been an attorney with the Social Security Administration for six years.
At any given time, I manage a caseload of an average of 60 cases. Each case represents a fellow American and/or their family who have been waiting—sometimes for more than a year—to find out whether they will be able to access life-saving governmental assistance in their time of extreme need.
Other cases ensure that fellow Americans have access to benefits upon retirement—their hard-earned money entrusted to the Social Security system as a safety net in advanced age.
And other cases yet help us identify fraud and funds that were improperly disbursed and work to collect them.
Every day, I speak with sick, struggling individuals, desperate for the aid of their government. These people may be your grandparents, parents, spouses, siblings, cherished friends, children—or YOU.
These citizens are not grifters. It is our money, our right.
- WE DO NOT ask who these claimants voted for.
- WE DO NOT consider race, religion, socioeconomic status, or national origin.
- WE MOST CERTAINLY DO NOT luxuriate at a desk and eat taxpayer-funded bonbons.
- WE are paid far below private-sector salaries to SERVE the American people.
- WE have strict production standards we must meet to ensure speed and accuracy.
- WE are diligent stewards of your taxpayer dollars.
- WE do it proudly, humbly, and tirelessly, so that our systems can work efficiently for you. For US.
The actions of the Administration in the past few days against federal workers, en masse, are not only retribution but part of a right-wing social engineering campaign to strip the federal government of people with differing personal opinions.
It is an attack on our First Amendment freedoms.
It will lead to the loss of troves of institutional and practical knowledge that are integral to the proper functioning of our agencies. This means more inefficiencies. More injustices.
If I or my colleagues are fired, we will struggle—but we will be okay. But who will defend your access to your Social Security assistance and benefits when you need it most, regardless of what you look like or believe?
Who will ensure your food and drugs are safe despite the pressures from Big Food and Big Pharma?
Who will ensure our police are properly outfitted, that we continue to do cutting-edge scientific research, or provide humanitarian assistance to people—maybe your kin—all over the world?
It won’t be the privileged sons and daughters of further privileged elites who view everyone outside of the 1% as lazy, dumb, and expendable in the service of their own financial gain.
They are distracting us with social issues—pitting us common folk against each other—while they infiltrate our agencies, invade our privacy by setting up surveillance systems, and censor us by instilling fear for our livelihoods.
This administration does not care about us. Their only value is money, and they only serve themselves—the ultra-rich.
Wake. Up.
— Thanks, Elif
Dearborn Blog 