In Defense of Public Service
How 22 Million Government Workers Will Save our Republic
Published on 14. April 2022
184 pages
978-1-5230-8509-5 (ISBN)
Description
The former police chief and news commentator makes a compelling case for the importance of civil service in this timely book-foreword by Elijah Cummings.
When those we elect descend into partisan tribalism, criminal malfeasance, and emulation of foreign autocracies and oligarchies, where do we turn? Cedric Alexander believes it is the unelected, apolitical "fourth branch" of government-our nation's public servants, civil servants, and first responders-who must save the nation.
Alexander, a former deputy mayor, police chief, and CNN commentator, argues that these people do not constitute a nefarious "deep state" pursuing a hidden agenda. They are the analysts, scientists, lawyers, accountants, educators, consultants, enforcers of regulations, and first responders of every kind who keep the country running and its people safe.
This book recounts the evolution of the professional civil service as an antidote to widespread cronyism, with examples of how it has served as a bulwark against powerful corrupting influences. It describes the role civil servants play in bringing our badly divided society together.
When those we elect descend into partisan tribalism, criminal malfeasance, and emulation of foreign autocracies and oligarchies, where do we turn? Cedric Alexander believes it is the unelected, apolitical "fourth branch" of government-our nation's public servants, civil servants, and first responders-who must save the nation.
Alexander, a former deputy mayor, police chief, and CNN commentator, argues that these people do not constitute a nefarious "deep state" pursuing a hidden agenda. They are the analysts, scientists, lawyers, accountants, educators, consultants, enforcers of regulations, and first responders of every kind who keep the country running and its people safe.
This book recounts the evolution of the professional civil service as an antidote to widespread cronyism, with examples of how it has served as a bulwark against powerful corrupting influences. It describes the role civil servants play in bringing our badly divided society together.
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Cedric L. Alexander
In Defense of Public Service
How 22 Million Government Workers Will Save our Republic
Book
01/2020
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
€22.50
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Person
Cedric L. Alexander is the former deputy mayor of Rochester, New York, and public safety director of DeKalb County, Georgia. He is also a professor of clinical psychology at the University of Rochester Medical Center and has served as president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives as well as on President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing. He is a frequent contributor to CNN and spoke at TEDxYale 2019. He is also the author of The New Guardians: Policing in America's Communities for the 21st Century.
Content
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword: Congressman Elijah Cummings
- Introduction: Back to the Future, 1829
- Chapter 1 Civil Servants and Servant Leaders
- Chapter 2 Shutdown
- Chapter 3 Two Nights I Could Have Been Killed (And Why I Wasn't)
- Chapter 4 All Politics Is Local
- Chapter 5 Strange Bedfellows: Democracy and Special Interests
- Chapter 6 Democracy Defaults to Competence, and Competence Defaults to Moderation
- Notes
- Suggestions for Finding the Facts
- Acknowledgments
- Index
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Y
- Z
- About the Author
