This past Sunday, we saw two widely varying examples of the best of public service. On Sunday morning, when white supremacist Wade Michael Page gunned down six people at their Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, police officer Brian Murphy was one of the first to arrive on the scene. Murphy began to assist one shooting victim, whereupon Page ambushed Murphy and shot Murphy eight to nine times. Murphy then reportedly waved off paramedics who attempted to treat him, so that they could get to the other victims first. Murphy remains in critical condition.
At nearly the same time, team members of NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California successfully guided the Curiosity rover to a bulls-eye landing on Mars. The enthusiasm and celebration of the NASA team, following many months of hard work, was as infectious as a gold medal win from our U.S. Olympic team.
These are just some of the “government workers” who Republicans and Conservatives have been trashing wholesale on a daily basis for decades, and firing in recent years. The funny thing is, when you point out specifics, whether it’s Sunday’s heroes, or the first responders who rushed up the stairs of the burning World Trade Center on 9/11, or our brave soldiers in Afghanistan and other war zones, the Conservatives’ pathological attacks on public workers just don’t hold water.
Well, the LOGIC doesn’t hold water, but the MESSAGING has been so effective that the complete lack of substance hasn’t mattered. The public, led by the mainstream media, has been marching lockstep to the right.
Yup, and pointing out specific examples, such as those from last Sunday, could have an effect in the messaging battle over the “government workers” narrative.