Cedric Alexander - In Defense of Public Service: How 22 Million Government Workers Will Save Our Republic

Praise for In Defense of Public Service

Over thirty years in a uniform in defense of our freedoms convinced me that soldiering was a good thing. Then I read Cedric Alexanders book. I didnt defend anything; I pursued liberty... supported by millions of selfless civil servants. They have my thanks.

Major General James Spider Marks (US Army retired), President, The Marks Collaborative, and national security contributor, CNN

A gripping and passionate analysis. Thank you, Cedric, for telling the story of the deserving men and women of public service. They deliver civilization to us every day.

Patrick Malone, Director, Key Executive Leadership Programs, Department of Public Administration and Policy, American University

Cedric Alexander provides an extraordinarily thoughtful and perceptive defense of public service and the dangers of hyperpartisanship from the unique point of view of a clinical psychologist, a police chief, and a leader in the field of community policing. This is an important book for all who care not just about policing in the 21st century but civility and good government in all its aspects.

Barry Scheck, cofounder of the Innocence Project and Professor of Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University

Cedric Alexanders In Defense of Public Service should be required reading for everyday citizens as well as for anyone considering a life in the fourth branch of our government. In a time of profound political division and deep skepticism about the so-called deep state, this book sheds much needed light on the extraordinary contribution made by those unelected officials who actually keep our democracy running.

Tony Goldwyn, actor

For almost ten years I have had the privilege of teaching leadership to highly placed federal managers. I am constantly inspired by their dedication, intelligence, and work ethic. In Defense of Public Service makes it clear why we all owe our civil servants a debt of gratitude and appreciation.

Marilee Adams, PhD, bestselling author of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life and Adjunct Professor, Key Executive Leadership Program, School of Public Affairs, American University

HOW 22 MILLION GOVERNMENT
WORKERS WILL SAVE OUR REPUBLIC

Cedric L. Alexander

In Defense of Public Service

Copyright 2020 by Cedric Alexander

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

Ordering information for print editions

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First Edition

Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-5230-8507-1

PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-8508-8

IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-8509-5

Digital audio ISBN 978-1-5230-8511-8

2019-1

Production manager: Susan Geraghty; Cover design: Kirk DouPonce, Dog Eared Design; Interior design: Paula Goldstein; Composition: Westchester Publishing Services; Copyeditor: Michele D. Jones; Proofreader: Cathy Mallon; Indexer: Carolyn Thibault

Author photo: Wave Photo, Pensacola, Florida

To the 22 million men and women who get it done for us every day. They are true American patriots.

Congressman Elijah Cummings

A s I pen these words, we are living through a time in our nations history when powerful forces are seeking to divide us, one from another; when the legitimacy of our constitutional institutions is under attack; and when factually supported truth itself has come under relentless challenge.

I am among those who have not lost confidence in our ability to right the ship of American democratic life, but I also realize that we are in a fighta fight for the soul of our democracy.

It is from this perspective that I can highly recommend Cedric Alexanders cogent analysis in this very readable book.

Dr. Alexander was trained as a clinical psychologist, with a lifetime of experience in law enforcement at all levels. He brings to this book an acute understanding of both why our cherished form of governmentand those who serve us in the civil serviceappear to be under such unrelenting attack and how we, as citizens, should and must respond.

Dr. Alexanders book may especially resonate with me because, as an American of color, I have been able to receive an excellent public education, become an attorney, and serve my community and country in both the Maryland General Assembly and the Congress because of one very important fact: Americans of conscience from every political vantage point took our Constitution seriously and fought for my right to be all that I could become.

This is the personal debt that I and so many others with my heritage owe to our democratic republicto the twenty-million-plus Americans who serve our republic and its values in our nations civil service.

And this is also why I, personally, will remain in the fight to preserve our republic and the humane and equitable values at its foundation for as long as I can draw breath.

It is for these reasons that I have contributed this brief foreword as a way of speaking to all patriotic Americans, whatever their philosophies may be, who are at heart constitutionalists.

It was to our Constitutionand not to any political perspective or partythat I gave my oath when I became an officer of the court, when I joined the Maryland state legislature, and when I was elected to serve in the Congress of the United States.

It is this commitment that I bring to my work as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, the committee that has direct oversight over our federal civil service. From my more than two decades of experience performing this oversight, I can confirm that our nations federal employees deserve our respect, gratitude, and support.