There are certain words that can tell you a great deal about a person. Sometimes it is not a long speech or a carefully prepared campaign statement. Sometimes you can learn more from a single question, and that question grates on me every time I hear it.
“Do you know who I am?”
I have always believed those six words should give all of us pause when they come from someone who wants to serve the public. Public service should NEVER be about being important. It should be about being useful. That distinction is important and matters.
I have spent a significant portion of the past couple of decades in politics and government. I have been in legislative chambers, attended committee meetings, listened to constituents, worked with people from different political parties, and watched candidates campaign for public office. I have learned that titles can open doors, but they do not make someone more worthy of respect than the person standing on the other side of the door.
The person seeking help deserves respect. The constituent asking a question deserves respect. The people who disagree with you deserve respect, and trust me, there will be plenty of them. The individual who has never held an elected office deserves the same basic courtesy as the person who has held office for decades.
That is what public service is supposed to mean. This should be the gold standard for allowing someone to work for you. When someone in public life responds to another person with “Do you know who I am?” the problem is not just the words. It is the attitude behind them.
The question seems to suggest that someone’s title, position, influence, or perceived importance should determine how they are treated. Apparently, they believe it!
I believe the opposite should be true. The higher the position, the greater the responsibility to treat people well. I have said this before. When one takes the oath of office, there is no coronation. Public office is not a throne. It is a trust.
Will you be able to please everyone all the time? Sure! If you don’t do anything.
An elected official is not given a position to be treated better than everyone else. An elected official is entrusted with a position because the public expects that person to work on behalf of everyone, including those who did not vote for them. That responsibility should produce humility, not entitlement.
I understand that public officials have difficult jobs. They face demanding schedules, competing interests, criticism, and constituents who sometimes approach them when they are frustrated or angry. I also understand that elected officials are human. They can have bad days. They can become frustrated. They can make mistakes. I have made plenty of my own.
But there is a difference between having a bad moment and embracing an attitude that suggests public office makes someone more important than the people they serve. That is a line I believe we should all take seriously. I believe this should serve as a basic litmus test for whom you want to work for you.
One of the things about my time in the legislature was the chance to meet people from every corner of West Virginia. Some owned businesses. Some were teachers. Some were retired. Some were younger people trying to figure out what their future would look like. Some had never been involved in government. Every one of them mattered.
Their concerns did not become more important because they knew a legislator. Their voices did not become more valuable because they had political connections. They mattered because they were citizens. That is the foundation of representative government.
It is also why I have always believed that the best public servants are those who can walk into a room and make everyone else feel important. They listen. They ask questions and, more importantly, remember the answers. They aren’t yes men. They take the time to explain the whys. They disagree respectfully. They admit when they do not know something, look into it, and get back to the questioner with an answer.
They remember that the person in front of them may be the very reason they are sitting in that position in the first place.
Maya Angelou is often credited with saying that people will forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. I think that is especially true in public service.
People may forget a campaign slogan or a speech. Many will likely forget a particular vote, especially if it was of little interest to them. They rarely forget how an elected official treated them.
That is why, as voters, we should pay attention not only to what candidates promise but also to how they conduct themselves.
How do they treat the person who disagrees with them?
How do they treat someone with no influence?
How do they respond when they are challenged?
How do they behave when the cameras are not rolling? Are they only there when the cameras are rolling?
Those moments can reveal far more about someone’s approach to public service than a campaign advertisement ever will, and the people should pay attention.
I don’t expect elected officials to be perfect. I don’t expect them to agree with me. I don’t even expect them to always get it right. I do expect them to remember for whom they work.
The answer to “Do you know who I am?” should never be necessary. If you hold public office, your title should not define you. Your service should. Your character should. Your willingness to listen should. Your commitment to the people you represent should.
At the end of the day, the most important person in any public office is not the person sitting behind the desk. It is the citizen standing in front of it.
That is not just a political philosophy. It should be a basic expectation of public service, and it is one I hope we never become too cynical, too partisan, or too accustomed to demand.
